Nickelini's 2013 Reading Challenge

Hello! I loved the 2008 & 2009 challenges, but then then numbers just got too cumbersome. But I'm back and excited in 2013 with a new scheme: 10 categories of 3 books each, for a total of 30 books read for this challenge by December 31, 2013. This will be fun!

Edited December 10, 2012: Well, I couldn't decide on my 10th category, so instead I've raised my total number of groups from 10 to 13. So I'll now read 3 books in 13 different categories.

Also, I have a personal rule: I only count books that were in my TBR pile as of Dec 31, 2012 (except category 11).

1. The Oldest Books in My Closet



1. Wild Swans, Jung Chang (January)
2. A Good House, Bonnie Burnard (April)
3. A Student of Weather, Elizabeth Hay (May)
4. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald (May)

Potential books for this category: something from my F Scott Fitzgerald set, The Ginger Tree, Good House, Galileo's Daughter, Cold Mountain, Snow Falling on Cedars, oh, there are so many to choose from.

2. 1001 Books



Books from Peter Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

1. In the Forest, Edna O'Brien (January)
2. The Beautiful Room is Empty, Edmund White (March)
3. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton (April)
4. Night and Day, Virginia Woolf (November)

Possible reads include: Wild Swans, Oscar and Lucinda, Kestrel for a Knave, In the Forest, The Sea, Inheritance of Loss, The Plot Against America, House of Mirth, The Beautiful Room is Empty, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Hard Times.

3. Booker Prize Winners and Nominees



1. Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively (June)
2. The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai (July)
3. Offshore, Penelope Fitzgerald (August)

Maybe I'll read: Moon Tiger, Offshore, Dirt Music, The Quickening Maze, Scar Tissue, or maybe something completely different.

4. CanLit



1. Deep Hollow Creek, Shiela Watson (January)
2. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland (February)
3. The Best Laid Plans, Terry Fallis (February)
4. Nikolski, Nicolas Dickner (September)
5. Lives of Girls and Women, Alice Munro (October)

I hope to get to at least some of these: Girlfriend in a Coma, Mistress of Nothing, Irma Voth, Clara Callan, Woefield Poultry Collective, Book of Small, Galore, and something my TBR pile by Margaret Atwood.

5. Non-fiction



1. Eating Dirt: Deep Forest, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, Charlotte Gill (February)
2. The Bronte Myth, Lucasta Miller (February)
3. This Common Secret, Susan Wicklund
4. 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True, Guy P Harrison
5. Shame, Jasvinder Sanghera

Murder city, Nothing to Envy, Mauve, War is Not Over When It's Over, This Common Secret, Mrs Woolf and the Servants, the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, are just some I want to read soon.

6. World Lit: fiction from somewhere other than Canada, the UK, or the US



1. Five Bells, Gail Jones (Australia) (April)
2. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (France) (April)
3. the Sky People, Patricia Grace (New Zealand) (June)

Some of my possible WorldLit choices are: Royal Physician's Visit, Cruel Stars of the Night, Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District, The Yacoubian Building, Lost Dog, I'm Not Scared, Distant View of a Minaret, Amongst Women, and Smilla's Sense of Snow

7. Beautiful Covers



I do judge a book by it's cover. Although I'm a reader, I'm also an artist, and I love beautiful books. I buy beautiful books, but sometimes I put them on a shelf and don't read them. This year, some of those are getting pulled off that shelf!

(I just found this from the site where I snagged my picture for this category: "Beyond that, books are meant to be shared. That’s why book clubs exist, or sharing circles, or even libraries for that matter. It’s why, unlike say, kitchen gadgets or DVDs, we proudly display our books as representations of who we are, and what we love. Beyond that, book covers are among the most accessible forms of iconic art for us to place in our homes. Think about how many times you really have judged a book by its cover, or stared at the cover of your favourite titles, reflecting on how the artists behind legendary covers have managed to boil down the essence of an amazing story in lines and type. It’s why I don’t own an eReader in many ways – you can’t beat the beauty and feeling of holding a book in your hands.")

1. The Beginning of Spring, Penelope Fitzgerald (February)
2. The Small Hand, Susan Hill (July)
3. Hawksmoor, Peter Ackroyd (August)
4. Conceit, Mary Novik (September)
5. Fear and Trembling, Amelie Nothomb (October)

Looking forward to finally reading Fires in the Dark, The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits, Galore, The Children's Book, Five Bells, Signed, Mata Hari, Fear and Trembling, oh there are so many more . . .

8. Books I've Wanted to Read Forever ....



As with my beautiful books (category 7), sometimes I buy books that I really want to read, but then don't get to . . . this year I'm going to make time for them too.

1. The Shooting Party, Isabel Colgate (March)
2. The Witch of Exmoor, Margaret Drabble (May)
3. The Children's Book, AS Byatt (September)

Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Lighthousekeeping, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, England, England, Spaz, the Witch of Exmoor, Mrs De Winter, Giraffe, the Highest Tide, Cold Earth, are just a few I'm itching to get to but never seem to somehow.

9. Women Writers



Virago Modern Classics? Orange Prize nominees? Any of the other 12 million books by women on my TBR?

1. The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey (April)
2. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (August)
3. An Experiment in Love, Hilary Mantel (August)

Something by Susan Hill, Penelope Fitzgerald, Nina Bawden, Margaret Drabble, Hilary Mantel and more.

10. Book Sale Discoveries



Once or twice a year I volunteer at the book sale at my daughter's school. One of the parents is in the book business and regularly donates a truckload of brand new books. I always walk away with a large box of books for about $20. I continue to surprise myself with the quality books I've discovered through this event.

1. First Fruits, Penelope Evans (May)
2. We are the Weather Makers, Time Flannery (July)
3. A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby (July)

I'm curious about First Fruits, Night Watch, Coventry, and so many more.

11. Books Other People Want Me to Read



Books that I need to read for book club and books that people push into my hands and say "you have to read this!."

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon (January)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (May)
3. Little Bee, Chris Cleave (September)

I currently have on loan: The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Bride of New France, Language of Flowers, Flight of Gemma Hardy, and three books by Tatiana de Rosnay. Also, Kavalier and Clay is my January book club selection.

If you can't read this funny picture, it lists the Rules of Book Club:

1. You do not talk about book club
2. You do not talk about book club
3. One book at a time
4. No notes
5. Conversations will go on as long as they have to
6. If this is your first time at book club you have to talk

This is a play on the Rules of Fight Club, from the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk:

1st RULE: You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT CLUB.
3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over.
4th RULE: Only two guys to a fight.
5th RULE: One fight at a time.
6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes.
7th RULE: Fights will go on as long as they have to.
8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT CLUB, you HAVE to fight.

12. Historical Fiction



1. The Colour, Rose Tremain (January)
2. the House I Loved, Tatiana de Rosnay (May)
3. The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell (June)

I think I'm growing away from historical fiction. But before I decide, I should read Tulip Fever, the Scroll of Seduction, Falling Angels, the Shooting Party, Slammerkin, and Quattrocento.

13. Fiction for Children and Young Adults



1. The Amulet of Samarkand, Jonathan Stroud
2. After Hamelin, Bill Richardson
3. Breathe: a Ghost Story, Cliff McNish

the Subtle Knife, After Hamlin, Chasing Vermeer, Girl in a Cage, When Dad Killed Mom, and Safe as Houses are some possibilities.

Glad you could join us! Have fun creating your categories.

Thanks, Mamzel! I have some ideas, but I want to think about it for a bit before I write them down in cyber-stone.

And welcome back!

Welcome back!

Messing about with the categories are a big part of the fun too - although, I inevitably end up changing at least one. :)

I'm a firm believer in making reading fun. If a challenge is too onerous then pffft to it. Make it to your style and interesting but not hard work!

Welcome back. Looking forward to seeing some of your picks.

Great categories, some of our categories cross over so it'll be great to see your choices. And I have an ugly covers category in contrast to your beautiful covers one. Good luck

Thanks for all the warm and welcoming words, Hailelib, Ivyd, Eva, Majkia, Katrina,& Thornton. I've filled in most of the categories now, but the books will come as 2013 progresses. Most of these categories are familiar from my 888, 999, & 1010 challenges--I know what I like, okay?

I will post teasers of books I might read between now and Jan 1st. (and then watch me not read any of them!)

Katrina - I had an ugly books category one year too! I might make that #10.

Welcome back Nickelini! I'm still thinking about my categories but it looks like we're going to share more than a few. I'm already looking forward to adding more books to my TBR pile based on your reviews.

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, and especially what books you pick for the "beautiful covers" category. I'm fascinated by what other people find beautiful/pretty - it rarely coincides with what I like myself...

Paruline - thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing what you read too.

PawsforThought - I'm fascinated by what other people find beautiful/pretty - it rarely coincides with what I like myself... Indeed! I came across a thread on LT about 6 months ago were everyone was dissing a cover as "boring" and "too brown" and I thought it was classic and lovely!

I'm really into book covers, and I have a Pinterest board dedicated to just that! As I'm planning to read only off my TBR pile for this challenge, most likely the books for the Beautiful Covers category is here: http://pinterest.com/nickelini/fabulous-book-covers/ (I don't own all these books, but anything I like from my TBR is in there)

Welcome back, I'm looking forward to following your reading.

Some of those covers are gorgeous (I especially like the collected works of Poe, Beowulf and I Capture the Castle, but the Henry James one is cute too). I really don't get what people see in the Penguin classics editions though - the patterns are lovely, I'l give them that, but I don't think they fit the books.
That also ties in with one of my pet peeves, books by the same author but with completely different cover styles. GAH!

I love what you said about book covers. I had a class in this morning to check out nonfiction books and I shared several that I had read. One, I admitted, I only picked up because I found the cover so clever. The book is called Rats and believe you me, I would never have picked up a book about rats because I like them!

That is a GREAT cover! Really great, and so so clever.

I agree! I pinned it.

Great categories and pictures! I love the book rainbow for the beautiful-covers category :) Took a quick look at your book cover pinboard and have to agree with that Timothy Findley cover in particular. It's a neat style. I also like the cover for The Last of the Crazy People: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y4FC32GHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I really don't get what people see in the Penguin classics editions though - the patterns are lovely, I'l give them that, but I don't think they fit the books.

I'm guessing that you're talking about the cloth bound ones (picture in post #9), and not the classic black paperbacks with orange writing? I think the cloth bound series is lovely, but I've only bought one and I'm not sure why. Part of it is that I already own copies of lots of those titles, but I've bought duplicates before so I'm not sure that's it. I think the vintage look is what grabs people, and they feel like decent quality for the price. So they're nice decorating objects. As for the patterns, I think some of them are quite clever--the chandeliers for Great Expectations, the knitting for Tale of Two Cities, the birdcages for Bleak House, and the flamingos for Alice in Wonderland. On the other hand, the patterns for the Jane Austen and Bronte titles are sort of "whatever," and I'd expect The Hounds of the Baskervilles to have hounds on it, not winged insects (but I haven't read it, so maybe those winged insects are clever too). (Note that none of the touchstones will go to the covers--sorry, I'll track down pics if anyone needs them).

This weekend I bought a bunch of the Beautiful Book series pictured in post #8. I'd love all 30, but ..... no. I've read a whole pile of the series and don't want new copies or duplicates, others I already have in my TBR, and a bunch I'm not interested in reading. So that leaves fewer than 10 that I want to buy.

Gotta go pick up my child at school before they give her to child services . . .

I love the book rainbow for the beautiful-covers category :) Took a quick look at your book cover pinboard and have to agree with that Timothy Findley cover in particular. It's a neat style. I also like the cover for The Last of the Crazy People: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y4FC32GHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Rabbitprincess - at first I thought you meant this Findlay book:



but then I saw your link and I think you might mean:



because it looks like the same style as your link. I love that one too, and have pinned it! Thanks!

I'm so excited to find people who like to discuss book art!

This weekend I bought a bunch of the Beautiful Book series pictured in post #8. I'd love all 30, but ..... no. I've read a whole pile of the series and don't want new copies or duplicates, others I already have in my TBR, and a bunch I'm not interested in reading. So that leaves fewer than 10 that I want to buy.


Quoting myself here . . . in my rush to go pick up my daughter, I didn't explain what I was getting at here . . . as with the Penguin classics clothbound books, and with this colourful Panatone-esque series, I'm always disappointed with which books they offer. How many copies of Jane Austen does any one person need?

Mamzel - I'm intrigued by Rats. Was it a good read?

I'm glad you're joining the challenge next year! I've got you starred and I'll look forward to seeing which books you choose to fill your categories.

Yes, I did mean the cloth bound ones. I agree some of the patterns are clever but the fact that they're all similar is annoying to me. I want books by the same author so have a similar style, but I don't want books by different authors to look like they're part of a series (unless they really are) - if that makes sense. Hence, I don't particularly like the older Penguin editions either (whether is be really old orange covers or the semi-old ones that are mostly black) - though the cover image of some of them are truly great.

This is part of why I pretty much never buy books anymore, I don't want to buy something and then be annoyed by it. That and the fact that few books sold today are made to last - they're either paperbacks or faux-hardback (glued-back books are not real books, in my view, I want them sewn).

PawsforThought - you are a true connoisseur, and have more discipline than I!

Cbl_tn - thanks! I've only been back a day, and I'm already having fun!

Hence, I don't particularly like the older Penguin editions either

Back in the 70s I used to think those were so ugly . . . but now they have a sort of vintagy thing going on. I don't want a whole collection of them, however.

>35 Nickelini:: Yup, The Wars was the one I was thinking of! :)

It is nice to see you joining the challenge Joyce. I think 2013 will be a fun year of discussing book covers if your thread is any indication so far! I am curious to see what books fill your 'oldest books in my closet' category..... ;-)

ooo I read Rats a while ago and thought it was very good, never dry and always personable. It isn't solely about rats though and admittedly being from the UK learning about US & New York history (rat related) was doubly fascinating.

Joyce, It was pretty good and made you think about the parts of a city that are usually avoided and ignored. It is called an adult book but it was a good length and reading level for a high school library. I will say again that I can't stand rats and would never have read this book except for its cover.

I love the covers you have on Pinterest, especially the Sherlock Holmes one.

welcome - I also enjoyed rats when I read it

Welcome back to the challenge. I've also enjoyed looking at your covers on Pinterest, so many great ones. I really enjoyed reading The wars though I read an older edition with a fairly boring cover.

30 books is so much more achievable! I love reading challenges, but no way could I cope with a 'proper' 13x 13 challenge =169 books eek!

#149 - no kidding!

I love natural history books, and Rats sounds good; onto the wishlist it goes.

I understand what you mean about beautiful covers. Often I'm tempted to buy a book because of its cover, even though I already have a different edition of it. This happened with Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven. I have the hardcover which I do love, but I'm sooo tempted to get the Penguin edition as well. I also love the way the Penguin paperback feels.

......

Often I'm tempted to buy a book because of its cover, even though I already have a different edition of it

I hear you! That's something I struggle with too. Sometimes I can resist, sometimes I cave. The covers you shared are really lovely. I can see why you absolutely need both of them.

Oooooh. Did anyone else see that? That's called enabling that is :oD

So far I've been able to resist because it doesn't seem readily available at brick 'n' mortar book stores.

I can justify anything.

Well, I couldn't decide on my 10th category, so instead I've raised my total number of groups from 10 to 13. So I'll now read 3 books in 13 different categories. The four that I added are:

10. Book sale discoveries
11. Books others want me to read
12. Historical fiction
13. YA & kids lit

Also, if you're interested in the Rules for Book Club, see post 12, above. Makes me laugh every time.

Now to come up with lists of potential books. That way I can shake my head this time next year when I've read none of the books I suggested to myself.

Haha, love the addition of 4 more categories! Sounds like a good plan to me. :)

Book sale discoveries - Great category! Of course, I am also a Historical Fiction fan, so looks like you have added even more categories that will attract my attention!

Book sale discoveries - Great category!

Thanks. I do feel somewhat inspired. I've picked up well over a hundred books at this sale, and a whole bunch I have no idea about . . . but again and again they turn out to be excellent books. So let's see what's waiting for me in my TBR that I'll uncover in 2013.

For anyone who might be interested, I've gone back into each category and listed potential books. Now watch them all be completely different!

Looks good. If I finish Northern Lights/The Golden Compass with time to spare, I might continue on to The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

I can't recommend Snow Falling on Cedars though, I've never come across a duller book in my life.

I can't recommend Snow Falling on Cedars though, I've never come across a duller book in my life.

Which is what I expect and why it's sat in my TBR pile for so long. I didn't even want the book to begin with, but instead inherited it from my mom. She was a teenager here on the west coast of Canada during the war and so it was sort of personal for her (I know the book is set in the US, but similar story anyway). I'll give it a try, but I'm pulling out the Pearl rule a lot these days. If it doesn't work for me by page 50, I'm ditching it and crossing it off the list.

First one checked off! This could have gone in several categories, but I'm putting it under Oldest Books in My Closet.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang, 1991


Cover comments: ho hum

Comments: Wild Swans is a memoir of three generations of 20th century Chinese women, written by the granddaughter. The story starts with her grandmother, who undergoes foot binding as a child and is later sent off as one of the concubines of a warlord. After his death, she escapes with her daughter and marries a much older Manchurian doctor. The daughter grows up through the horrific Japanese occupation during WWII and then the following Chinese civil war, and becomes enamored with the communist dream. She marries a communist officer, and they become mid-level party elites. Jung Chang is born in 1952 into the volatile world of Chinese communism. Despite all three women having lives of privilege, all three also suffered very real horrors and hardships. One thing this book taught me is that in 20th century China, no one was exempt from suffering. Whether it was the traditional culture, WWII, or under communism, there is one word that describes this century in China: capricious.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, the book's strength is the author's ability to show how the historical events of these periods in China affected people's lives. It was certainly an engaging and interesting read. She showed how communism seemed like a dramatic improvement at first. She also showed how the cult of Mao consumed the culture.

However, Wild Swans was written in a very factual style that left me cold. There was no dialogue at all. The grimness was unrelenting--on every page someone was tortured or just mistreated. For most of the book it appeared that the only kind people in all of China were her relatives. Everyone else was nasty at best.

I suppose some of my disappointment was that I expected the book to be more literary and less mired down in minutia. It is one of the few memoirs on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, so I was expecting something more artistic. That said, perhaps the book was better for its lack of passion, as that may have been artifice. Just a thought.

Recommended for: Unless you've read a lot about 20th century China, I recommend this book for everyone. This is an important story that needs to be widely known. I've read about traditional China, and about life under communism, but this book does an excellent job of showing the progression and how one came out of the other.

Rating: Despite my strong recommendation of this book, I can only rate it 3.5 stars, which is lower than most readers give it. I just found myself counting the pages too often, wanting to be done.

Why I Read This Now: it was one of the older books on my TBR pile.

I read it a while ago, so I can't remember the style but I agree for someone like me who didnt know much about Chinese history it was a great and, yes very depressing, intro. Nice review btw :)

I'm feeling a little guilty about Wild Swans, I have had it on my TBR list for quite some time, but it always seems to get overlooked by something else that comes along. I need to find that extra push to actually make me pick it up!

#64 - Judy - well, I probably didn't help your motivation, but it is really very interesting. I'm just not a fan of long books (like to move on to a new world after 200 pages or so). I had it on my Mnt TBR since 2007, and before that, on my wishlist since 2003. I'm glad I read it, but you have to be in the mood.

-65 I'd agree, I'm glad i read it but itneeds a certain mood. I also read her book Mao which was worth reading if a little dry

It's definitely staying on my library list, I hope I am in the right mood for it sometime this year!

Hello, very interesting review on Wild Swans, it's one of the books on my wishlist and also there appear to be some drawbacks in the way it is written, it still seems to be very interesting. Thanks!

As with my first book, Wild Swans, there are several categories I could have put this one in. I decided on Historical fiction

2. The Colour, Rose Tremain, 2003


Oh, groan. Another headless woman in historical dress. Must be some tepid historical fiction that's making the book club rounds. Well, . . . no. This cover undersells the book. And it did have a really lovely indigo blue spine.

Comments: In the mid-1860s, Joseph Blackstone arrives in New Zealand from England with his recently widowed mother and his new bride, Harriet. They earnestly begin to homestead on the harsh South Island, but after Joseph discovers a small quantity of gold in his creek, he trades in his dream of a simple farm for the grander dream of gold wealth. As we see gold fever changing his behavior, Joseph's past (despicable) behaviour is also revealed. The parallel story is Harriet’s rise to the challenges of finding herself on the other side of the world with a worthless husband and few resources. After twelve years as a governess raising other people’s children in smothering drawing rooms, Harriet looks at her new life in New Zealand as one great adventure.

There is more going on her than you find in a typical historical novel, which is why it was nominated for the Orange prize and also included in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I really enjoyed Tremain’s writing style, and will definitely look for more of her novels. I’ve never read anything about the colonial period in New Zealand, so I enjoyed exploring a new time and place. I also liked how she wove together threads about the Maoris and both English and Chinese immigrants.

Why I Read This Now: It’s Orange January, and this is the oldest Orange book on my TBR pile. It’s the third time I’ve tried this novel—twice before I couldn’t get past the first paragraph. But this time I was hooked right away.

Recommended for: readers who like their historical fiction on the more literary side, readers who are interested in the time period or NZ setting.

Rating 4 stars.

>69 Nickelini: Historical fiction in set in NZ is different enough to prompt me to add it to the WL. Good review!

#70 - I hope you like it too. There aren't many books set in New Zealand, period. Pity! I'm definitely on the look out for more novels set there.

Interesting, I'm scheduled to read her The Road Home this month and it's about an immigrant as well - but to England. I've not read anything else by her, but maybe immigration is a regular theme in her writing.

I've not read anything else by her, but maybe immigration is a regular theme in her writing.

Interesting question. I don't know, as I haven't read anything else by her either. I do have Restoration on my TBR, which is set in the time period of Charles II, so probably no immigration in that one.

This sounds like the perfect New Zealand setting for the Commonweath Book Tour I am about to embark on. Duly noted!

Glad to be of service :-)

One for my CanLit category:

Deep Hollow Creek, Sheila Watson, 1992/1934


Cover comments: on it's own, this is not exactly an exciting cover. However, I really like it as part of the New Canadian Library series. All of the books have a tone-on-tone striped background with one element from story for a picture. I also like the typefaces. So this cover is a win for me.

Comments: This book was published in 1992, although Watson actually wrote it in 1934 when she spent a year teaching in a remote part of the Cariboo region of British Columbia. In this short novel, Stella is a school teacher who arrives in Deep Hollow Creek full of book knowledge, but with a lot to learn from observing the lives of the residents of this small community. There are three glowing reviews of Deep Hollow Creek here on LT, so I expected to love it too. Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. Although I did appreciate her sly sense of humour, overall I found the writing to be choppy. I have spent time in this area of the world, and that usually raises my enjoyment of a book, but it didn't help me in this case. Pity, as it's such a beautiful area:


Who wouldn't want to jump on a horse and explore this region?

Why I Read This Now: While recently reading The Colour by Rose Tremain, I saw how many similarities there were between the experiences of the settlers in New Zealand and the stories I knew about settling BC around the same time. I guess this was a bit of a compare and contrast exercise. I expected this story to be about the hardships encountered by homesteaders. But that's not what Deep Hollow Creek is about. Part of my disappointment lies here; however, I still didn't like her writing.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Recommended for: This is a CanLit classic, and others rave about it. If you think you might like it, give it a try.

That is gorgeous country. In that photo my eyes kept going back and forth between the clouds and the hills. Stunning!

Sign me up for the horseback hike!!!

Sorry to see that Deep Hollow Creek didn't work for you, Joyce. I agree, the Cariboo region is pretty amazing!

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon, 2000


I don't like this cover because I find this style of art unappealing. However, I do think it's suitable for the book. And the book felt very nice, which was important considering how long it took me to read this $!*# thing. Also, this edition has 40 pages of extra stuff that a fan would probably love, but that I skipped.

Rating: This is a book that is not only widely popular and much beloved, but also won the Pulitzer Prize. It even made a brief appearance on the 1001 books list (2008 edition). That doesn't mean it's for everyone, though. It took me 604 pages to get into this 636 page novel. Final verdict: 2.5 stars.

Comments: It's the late 1930s, and with the help of his family, Joseph Kavalier escapes from Prague and ends up at his cousin Sam's in Brooklyn. Together they decide to write a comic book about a superhero called the Escapist who fights Nazis. A bunch of other stuff happens too.

What I Liked About This Book: Michael Chabon is a gifted writer with a huge vocabulary and a charming way with words. He is also a master of research. This is an intelligent book.

What I Didn't Like: in a word, it was boring. All the stunning detail layered on detail felt bloated and indulgent. I never wanted to pick it up, was easily distracted while reading (his details often brought up questions that I was happy to go off on a tangent and look into), and I was always happy to put this down. This is not a book I would normally have finished, because it was a huge time investment. I read it because I bought it; I bought it because it was my book club selection and I knew I'd never get through a library book in the allowed time. So I was determined to finish it. And actually, from page 604 on, I thought it was great.

I realize that although I thought I had, I have never read a comic book. I devoured piles of Archie, and Casper the Friendly Ghost, but Kavalier and Clay was about Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc. Anytime one of those sorts of books has ended up in my hands, my eyes glazed over and I was frozen in immediate boredom. I think that was part of the problem with this novel--there is a lot going on, but the love of comics is an overriding theme that I just don't care about.

Recommended for: My book club came to a rare unanimous decision on this one: Kavalier and Clay is a very well-written book, but just doesn't interest us. Which is exactly what I expected going into it. So if everyone is telling you you must read this, but you don't think it's for you, trust yourself. But if you think it sounds interesting, you'll probably love it. I definitely want to read more Michael Chabon, but I don't know what. Any recommendations?

Why I Read This Now: my book club.

Obviously, this is going under books others want me to read

Making a note to catch up on my superhero comics before starting my read of this! :)

Making the same note as Eva

I enjoyed the Yiddish policeman's union and have also read gentlemen of the road but remember nothing at all about it which is a bad sign, I have maps and legends on the list for this year too...

I enjoyed it a lot, but I am not blind to its many faults: overlong, uneven pacing and you don't need to know much about old USA comics because he does like to give the odd lecture. I can see how some of the characters could fail to hook you too. It is one if kind though, hugely ambitious and clever and if can get hooked quite emotional too.

In the Forest, Edna O’Brien, 2002



I like this cover—the brooding dark green, the sweeping typeface—and the figure: why is she lying there? Is she enchanted? Sleeping? Dead? It makes me want to read the book and find out what happened to her In the Forest.

Comments: In Ireland, Michen O’Kane suffers through a sad childhood of abuse. Returning to County Clare on the west coast after a stint in prison, he is now a psychopath, and begins to menace and terrorize the residents of the area. Even the police are afraid of him. He stalks Ely, a young free spirited mother of four-year-old Maddie, who have taken up residence in a ramshackle remote cottage. When they go missing, Ely’s friends immediately suspect O’Kane (aka “the Kinderschreck,” or “children scarer”) but the authorities are slow to react.

The story is told through the eyes of many characters who witnessed the events. This is the books strength, but also its weakness, as in the beginning it was difficult to figure out what is happening and how it relates to the story. For example, when Ely and Maddie are introduced, I have no idea what gender Ely is, and that Maddie is her son. But after a while everything clicked and then the technique worked well. (I wish authors would do a better job of giving readers some markers, and not be so damn cryptically clever.). Apart from that criticism though, I enjoyed this novel. O’Brien doesn’t spend much time with flowery descriptions or melodrama—for such a dark, creepy story, it’s rather understated.

In the Forest is based on a similar story that actually happened in Ireland in the 1990s, and apparently many in the country were outraged by this novel, as they saw this ex-pat writer as simply cashing in on their local tragedy.The Guardian calls In the Forest one of those “state of the nation” books, and so this book is not just a retelling of horrific murders, but a story about modern Irish society as well. I’m sure that made some people there uncomfortable.

Why I Read This Now: it was my second Orange January read, and the book was also on the 2006 Must Read.... list. And lately I’ve been interested in reading about forests. And lastly, I’m trying to read more Irish literature.

Rating: 4 stars

Recommended for: not sure—I liked it, and it garnered some good reviews, so if it sounds interesting, give it a try.

County Clare looks so bucolic and idyllic--surely nothing bad has happened there? (wrong)


This could fit in a number of my categories, but I'm putting it under 1001 Books because that's why I first bought it.

I have a copy of that and will have to pull it out and read it soon.

Hmm... In the Forest, In the Woods. It makes me think I should avoid trees in Ireland.

I've never heard of In the Woods, but it sounds great. On the wish list it goes.

I am adding In the Forest to my wish list, and I will second Carrie's recommendation of In The Woods, it's the start of an excellent series by Tana French.

I wasn't aiming at you but I see I hit you with a book bullet anyway! I hope you enjoy In the Woods when you get to it.

One to put on my non-fiction list:

Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, Charlotte Gill, 2011


Cover comments: I really like the photo of the female tree planter standing on the slope of the clear cut, and the grey-tones of the picture.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Comments: This is Charlotte Gill's memoir of her twenty-year career as a tree planter. Beginning each February, she replanted forests, following the spring weather as it moved thousands of miles through British Columbia, and ending her work year in October. This is an insider's view of the life of one of the most physically grueling and dirtiest jobs around--so dirty, that she refers to being "earth-stained" with "permadirt," and wears disposable clothes. This is also a job that required her to eat 4,000 calories a day just so she could get up and do it again the next day. I found this look at her life absolutely fascinating. In between her stories of bears, solitude, blistering heat, camaraderie, bruises, bugs, rain, helicopters, lousy motels, and bending over thousands of times a day, she talks about the history of humans and forests, and the importance of forests to our planet. She weaves these pieces together with some beautiful, poetic writing, lush with similes and metaphors that she creates through keen observation.

This will definitely go on the list of my top books of the year. I'm not the only one who enjoyed it--lots of rave reviews around the internet, nominations for literary non-fiction prizes, and it won the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-fiction, which awarded the author with $40,000. I think she well-earned it.

Although she worked all across BC (the province is nearly four times the size of Great Britain, two and one-half times larger than Japan and larger than every U.S. state except Alaska), most of her time was spent in the temperate rainforests of Vancouver Island and coast BC. Places that looked like this . . . .

,

. . . and where she worked to change clear cuts like this . . . .

,

into forests that one day may again look like this:

.

One thing I really liked about her story is how she struck a realistic and pragmatic balance between the beauty and necessity of the natural forest and the human need to use the forest. She is not some unrealistic environmentalist with romanticized ideas of trees (aka "a tree-hugger," which around this part of the world is said only with a tone of derision in the voice).

Recommended for: I thought this was so interesting that I can't imagine anyone not agreeing. But I guess if you're not all that interested in our planet, or in people who live a completely different type of life, than this isn't your thing.

Why I Read This Now: I've been wanting to read it since it was published, and I'm on a sort of reading theme about forests, so it was my first choice for that theme.

Great review! I need to read more about BC and I think this will be a great one to start with. Forestry can be such a touchy subject here so what grabs me immediately is your description of this as a realistic and pragmatic balance between the beauty and necessity of the natural forest and the human need to use the forest.

Great review, sounds like a perfect present for my mum! She adored Fire Season (which I recommend if you haven't tried it)

I've had In the Forest on my shelves for about a year now, I really must get around to it - and I love a bit of controversy.

#92 - I'm pretty sure I have Fire Season in my TBR somewhere. Thanks for the push.

Eating Dirt sounds like a great book to add to my non-fiction category this year. Like Sandragon, I really need to read more about my home province!

Since Eating Dirt won the BC National Award for Canadian Non-fiction, I think I'll try and fit this in for April's Award CAT. My BOMB challenge isn't going so great, but I sure am finding lots of great books to read from this group.

I hope you all get a chance to read it, and that you enjoy it too.

just catching up and making a note of eating dirt sounds right up my street - or logging trail I guess ;-)

Another one for my CanLit category:

Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland, 1998


Cover comments: Douglas Coupland was an artist before he was a writer, and so he gets involved in the art for his book covers. I'm not much of a fan of his artistic style--it doesn't speak to me at all, while his books speak to me strongly. Yes, this cover fits his style, and although at first glance it looks like a lame cover for some YA romance novel, it actually has meaning pertinent to the story. However, it doesn't do much for me. At least the woman has a face. Extra points for that.

Comments: It's the late 1970s, and at a party, teenage Richard's girlfriend Karen (who is dieting for her upcoming Hawaiian vacation) takes a couple of valiums along with a weak cocktail. She slips into a persistent vegetative state (Karen Ann Quinlan, anyone? Even down to the name Karen). Richard and their group of friends, who were already scarred by the death of their friend Jared the year before, muddle into adulthood. One has a brilliant but short career as a supermodel, one becomes a physician, and several of them end up working in the film industry. Despite successes in life, they are really a bunch of losers lost in a fog of ennui. Until 17 years later, when Karen awakens from her coma. This is about half way into the novel, and suddenly there is a major change of direction as an apocalyptic illness breaks out and kills everyone on earth except this group. (This is not a spoiler as it is mentioned on the back cover blurb). The initial story of the apocalypse was very entertaining, but then the book sort of wanders off toward its end, with philosophical musings about the meaning and purpose of life. Oh, and the ghost of Jared returns to guide them.

I really liked the first part, and then when it switched to a sci-fi novel I switched mindsets and liked that too. But then it just kinda . . . got weird and not very interesting. Not Coupland's best (I've seen him interviewed and he said he was in a really bad place when he wrote this one). Still, I'd rather read a "meh" Coupland than a lot of other stuff out there.

As always though, Coupland is sharp with capturing cultural snap shots. He has an amazing ability to capture time and place (the 1970s teenage party spot on perfect--down to the Bob Seger music). This is one of his novels set in Vancouver, and he can write about the city with an accuracy that I haven't come across elsewhere. In one of the opening scenes, Richard and Karen are night skiing on Grouse Mountain, an activity that I've done many times. This is the view they saw:



Why I Read This Now: my daughter read it and wanted to talk with me about it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Recommended for: people who like books set in Vancouver, or books about the apocalypse. There are readers who just love this book, and probably just as many who hate it. If you haven't read Coupland before, don't start with this one.

What Coupland would you recommend?

I haven't read that many but so far my fav is Eleanor Rigby. It's both funny and sad.

>101 Nickelini:: Agreed! I'd recommend that one too :) Have to get my own copy.

My favourite Coupland (and first) is Microserfs, but I'm not entirely sure why, so I would consider that a "read if the description interests you" recommendation.

Another non-fiction book:

The Bronte Myth, Lucasta Miller


Cover comments: well . . . a bit of a miss for me. The photo, titled "In Haworth Parsonage" is interesting, and I like Branwell Bronte's painting down the spine, but the whole thing is too dark and rather a mishmash in its composition.

Recommended for: this book is a must-read for Bronte scholars and anyone studying the Brontes at school. For mere Bronte fans, there's a lot of academic minutia to wade through to get to the interesting bits.

Why I Read This Now: I was wondering something about Emily Bronte and thought this might answer my question (by the time I got to the bits about Emily I had forgotten my question)

Comments: The blurb on the back cover praises The Bronte Myth as "a brilliant combination of biography, literary criticism, and history." I suppose, but I was expecting it to be a bit more engaging. Most of the book is about Charlotte Bronte, and I studied her at uni, so a lot of it was a repeat for me. Also, there was almost nothing about Ann. Overall though, throughout the book there was enough of interest to keep me reading.

One thing that stood out for me was that Miller never presents her thesis on what she thinks the "Bronte Myth" actually is . . . there is just this sentence in the "Preface & Acknowledgements" section that says "...the two most famous Bronte novels have become established not just as literary classics but as what might be called modern myths . . . " and then rambles off in several directions. (Someone needs to tell the author that the preface & acknowledgement section is often skipped.) So it's up to the reader to identify the Bronte Myth, or as the book progressed, many different myths.

Rating: at this point in my life I give this 3 stars. If I was using it for university, especially if I was interested in the cultural repercussions of the Brontes, I would rate it higher.

Well, look at that. Only February, and I've finished my CanLit category.

The Best Laid Plans, Terry Fallis, 2007


I like this cover. It's lively and fun, and what's that in the upper right? Oh no! A headless man . . . . .

Comments: Crusty, intelligent, and opinionated Angus agrees to have his name put on the ballot in an election that he has no chance in winning, and that's just the way he wants it. He lives in a riding that always votes for the other guys, and the incumbent is the most popular finance minister ever, and expected to become Prime Minister of Canada one day. But then scandal hits, and Angus finds himself elected to office. With no desire for re-election, and no desire for a political career, Angus can be that politician who actually does the right thing rather than being a politician.

The Best Laid Plans won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour and the 2011 CBC Canada Reads competition (the theme that year was the most important book of the past decade).

It took me a while to get into it but once I got to around page 30, I started to enjoy it. I don't find the humour especially funny, and some of the writing makes me cringe, and it's predictable . . . but many parts are clever, and while the humour isn't laugh out loud, it does make me smile. It's not difficult to read, yet I'm learning about how my country ticks. And best of all . . . I kept looking for opportunities to pick it up, and when was reading and needed to put it down, I'd think "one more chapter."

Why I Read This Now: It's my book club's selection for February, and it was on my TBR pile.

Recommended for: Well, as I said, it won CBC Canada Reads, so that means it's a must-read for all Canadians, obviously. I'm trying to think if someone who doesn't live in Canada would get anything out of it, and I'm not sure. Maybe; probably not.

Rating: 3.5 stars

A friend (from Ontario) recommended this to me last fall. I'd not heard of Terry Fallis before, but I'm definitely intrigued. Plus I tend to hide from politics and this sounds like a fun way to learn a bit about my own country's politics. What makes it through my anti-politics barrier tends to be international so I always feel like I know more about other countries than my own.

so I always feel like I know more about other countries than my own.

I know what you mean. For me it's because the personalities and issues in other countries (ah hm, mostly the US, but not exclusively) is so crazy, it just makes it more interesting. This was Terry Fallis's first book, and he originally had to self-publish, so no surprise that you hadn't heard of him.

Yea! One for my beautiful covers category.

The Beginning of Spring, Penelope Fitzgerald, 1988


Cover comments: I love this cover, though I'm not sure why. I find it beautiful--I guess it captures a mood. I was surprised to learn that it is not a painting, but a photograph. This reproduction is a bit dark, but it's an image of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow with what looks like snow falling (although it may just be the graininess of the image)

Comments: It is 1913, and Frank Reid is an Englishman who was born and raised in Moscow, and now runs his family's printing business. His English wife has suddenly up and left him and he is left to raise their three children. He also has to negotiate the capricious business and social world of per-revolutionary Russia.

Fitzgerald is an amazing writer in both her gift at crafting beautiful sentences, capturing bits of humour, and in creating an astounding world. How does an Englishwoman writing in the 1980s know this level of detail about Russian life at the beginning of the century? This is my first encounter with her, but I own a few others and want to read them right away.

The Beginning of Spring is one of those books that require reading between the lines to figure out what is going on, and where it often feels like there is a bit missing that the reader must puzzle out. But for the reader who enjoys that type of reading experience, it's a rewarding novel. And this is what historical fiction should look like.

Why I Read This Now: Because it's late February, which is the beginning of spring here in Vancouver.

Recommended for: readers who love rich detail, gorgeous writing, and nuance in their novels. Not recommended for those who like a straight-forward story with no complexity.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

One for my books I've wanted to read forever category--isn't it sad that I have to create a category for this?

The Shooting Party, Isabel Colgate, 1980


I love this Penguin Modern Classics cover--I had never heard of this "modern classic" and I kept seeing it at the uni book shop and had to buy it. At the time I didn't realize the book was so new--I thought it was written in the 1920s.

Note: this 2007 edition has an excellent 24 page introduction by Julian Fellowes. He was inspired by the 1980s film version of The Shooting Party to create Gosford Park, which further inspired him to create Downton Abbey.

Comments This short novel takes place in 24 hours in October 1913 before and during a shooting party at the Oxfordshire country house of Sir Randolph Nettlby. From the opening paragraph, you know that something bad is going to happen, but a something that will be forgotten a year later when their world is shattered by the Great War. The reader experiences the events of the day by following many characters, both aristocratic and service class.

Colgate is a fabulous writer--subtle, observant, witty, stylish. And she's writing about my favourite historical period--Edwardian England. Do I have to tell you I loved this book? I held back from giving it a full five stars because for my tastes there was a little too much detail about the actual shooting (or shall I say, needless slaughter of hundreds of pheasants, and yes, that's a metaphor for the war).

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: readers who love the Edwardian era, fans of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, although fans of the later should take note that this is only one day in the life, and there is no Maggie Smith character making hilarious comments. It also has a less fluffy tone than Downton Abbey.

Why I Read This Now: it has been right at the top of my TBR pile since I bought it in 2010, but for some reason I always allowed other books to bully their way into my hands. Time to finally read something I really wanted to read!

And now I'm off to buy the DVD of the film version . . .

The second book for the 1001 Books category:

The Beautiful Room is Empty, Edmund White, 1988


This is a library discard of a first edition. It's not in good shape, and I think it's very ugly, although I like the art deco typeface.

Why I Read This Now: First, the reason I even own this book is because it is in 1001 books you must read before you die, and I've discovered a lot of great reads off that list. I found this copy at a charity shop for twenty-five cents, so I thought I'd give it a try even though it's not a book I would have sought out otherwise. I read it now because the book isn't very long, but my edition is big and takes up too much shelf space. And it's ugly. So, time to read it or chuck it.

Comments: The semi-autobiographical novel of a young man in Detroit and Chicago in the 1950s and 60s, and who is gay . . . couldn't sound less interesting, unless they made it a baseball or football story. I really didn't think I'd find the interest to finish it until I got to the paragraph on page 19 where the narrator talks about how he wishes he lived in the "lurid decadence of nineteenth-century Europe, with its mauve glasses and moth-eaten velvets . . . " and said "I felt nausea whenever I faced America's frumpy cuteness." Suddenly, the book had promise--he didn't like his world any more than I do.

. . . And this just showed me how good writing can make an otherwise distasteful and boring book come to life. It was a quick, compelling read. For my tastes, there were too many scenes of cruising and sex in public bathrooms, but otherwise it was enjoyable. I'm glad I read it and will definitely read Edmund White again.

Recommended for: Not sure who I think will really like this book, but if you're bothered by lots of graphic gay sex scenes, stay clear of this one.

Rating: 3.5 stars, all of those on the quality of White's writing. Imagine if he wrote something I was actually interested in!

The third book for my 1001 Books category:

The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton, 1905


I love this Virago Modern Classics edition. The cover art is the oil painting "Lady Colin Campbell," by Giovanni Boldini, 1897

My daughter just got back from Europe, and brought me a bookmark from the Louvre of Tizian Vecellio's "Portrait d'homme." I immediately started using it for this book, and I think the two of them make a lovely couple!


Comments: It is the gilded age in New York City, and 29 year old Lily Bart realizes her time as belle of the ball is nearing its end, and she still hasn’t landed that über-rich husband. She has no money of her own, and is the dependent of her stodgy old aunt, but is expected by all to keep up the lifestyle of a wealthy socialite, which includes dressing lavishly and gambling regularly. Before her mother died eight years earlier, she trained Lily to expect and accept only the very best in life. Luckily for her, Lily is unusually beautiful, and knew to cultivate exquisite manners—her beauty and her manners are her currency. Her only training was to become a trophy wife. She had all but landed her mega-rich husband on several occasions, but some last minute event always came along and derailed it. Bad luck, or self-sabotage? Or is it that her worth is set so high that no one is good enough? We gradually see that Lily can’t quite make herself marry for money—she also wants love and an interesting companion.

After adoring Wharton’s The Age of Innocence last summer, I initially found The House of Mirth to be a bit boring—the problems of rich people and their endless conversations just weren’t that interesting to me. But about a third of the way through the book, it really took off as one thing after another goes wrong for Lily, and she is forced to constantly scale back her ambitions. My first impressions of her was of an entitled, snobby, prideful, self-absorbed woman who only cares about those who can do something for her, and is dismissive to anyone she deems below her. But bit by bit I saw how she was born and raised to play this role, and had few options—she is trapped in the proverbial gilded cage. She is a commodity, but not a victim either, as she enjoys displaying herself as an object for others to admire. In between her efforts to maintain her outward appearances and uphold her standing as a great beauty, her intelligence and morality are slowly revealed. The worse things get for her, the better person she seems to become. The novel forces the reader to question whether Lily’s problems were ”her own fault, or destiny?”

As critic Hannah Jordan says, the House of Mirth has all “the external elements of a traditional romance,” yet it is so much more. No true romance is ever this dark. Wharton’s writing is once again a pleasure to explore, and I take delight in her sophisticated layering of symbolism to create social commentary. The reader hopes that Lily will find someone suitable, even if it means settling for the sanctimonious and hypocritical Lawrence Seldon, but it seemed pretty clear to me from the beginning that this wasn’t a satisfying love story. There is so much more going on. And although few readers today can relate to the world of the novel, anyone who has observed how cliques ostracize and manipulate their members, or anyone who has ever watched an episode of “The Real Housewives of—“ will relate to The House of Mirth.

Recommended for: it’s a classic and on many “must read lists,” so I don’t think I need to push this book. I’ll tell you who shouldn’t read it—readers looking for a nice romance, readers who are bored with the problems of rich people—even if written in a nuanced, complex style, and readers who don’t like to have to read each and every sentence and think about what it means in context. Wharton is not a difficult author to read, but one does have to focus.

Why I Read This Now: it was my book club selection for this month (based on my encouragement).

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Finally, one to file under my World Lit category

Five Bells, Gail Jones, 2011


I think this cover is absolutely gorgeous. It's also appropriate, as the Sydney Opera House figures prominently in the story.

Comments: Five Bells takes place all on one brilliant summer day in Sydney, as four people pass through the transportation hub of Circular Quay. Ellie is excited to meet up with James, her high school sweetheart, Pei Xing ruminates about her pleasant life in Australia after her brutal imprisonment in Mao's China, and Catherine grieves the loss of her dear brother back home in Ireland. The city of Sydney makes the fifth character.

This is a beautiful novel, in a way reminiscent of Virginia Woolf. I love how Jones overlaps and mirrors actions and motifs, and weaves in references to James Joyce and Doctor Zhivago. I also really enjoyed revisiting Sydney, a city I spent a lot of time in back in the early 1980s.

With it's meandering storyline and frequent flashbacks, this was not always particularly compelling, but in the end, Five Bells was a most worthwhile read.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy layered, literary novels.

Rating: 4 stars

Why I Read This Now: Time to read one of the newer, prettier books on my shelf. You could say I (pre-)judged this book by its cover.

Great review for The House of Mirth Joyce! Andrea's review convinced me to download an e-copy to read and your review is helping convince me that I need to move it up the to read list. I hope to get around to reading it soon, after I make it through the pile of books I have on the go right now, one of which is Lisa Moore's February.

I was impressed with Jones' writing style and story telling abilities when I read Sorry last month. Looks like I will be adding Five Bells to my reading as well.

Have a great weekend!

Another one for my World Lit list:

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery, 2006, translator- Alison Anderson


Cover comments: I don't mind the art on this cover, and it certainly is distinctive. The girl pictured here is different looking than the one in the story. I don't think we're supposed to notice.

Comments: This wildly popular book is one that readers either love or hate. Not much actually happens over its 325 pages and for the most part it is the philosophical ramblings of Renee, a middle aged concierge at a luxury Paris apartment, and the profound thoughts of a precocious 12 year old tenant.

The crux of the story depends on the reader buying the premise that Renee is highly intelligent, but chooses to silence herself because she has an impoverished background. I myself didn't buy it, which made Renee come off as a rather silly woman. I didn't mind the 12 year old--some readers have commented that the two are the same character, and only the different typefaces distinguishes them. I see what they mean, but I found her more interesting as she at least described actual events and actions. However, I've met this character before in other books and she's not original.

Why I Read This Now: A friend--who usually gives me good recommendations--encouraged me to borrow her copy back in 2011. I figured I should get it back to her.

Rating: I'm not sorry I read this, but I can only give it 2 stars. Sometimes it's interesting to read books one doesn't particularly like.

Recommended for: People who like philosophical books.

Living on Mnt TBR since 2002 made this one of the oldest books in my closet

A Good House, Bonnie Burnard, 1999


This very boring cover and the very boring title resulted in this book sitting in my TBR pile for over 10 years.

Comments: A Good House tells the story of the Chambers family from 1949 through 1997, and follows the waves of their births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. It is set in a fictional small town northwest of London, Ontario toward Lake Huron, but could really be set in any small town in North America. Just substitute "going off to university," with "going off to college," and "Muskoka chair" with "Adirondack chair," and the book could be set in the US.

What I enjoyed most about this novel was Burnard's unique writing style where she packs a wealth of information in each sentence, and then packs her paragraphs with these full sentences. In doing this, she creates nuanced, rounded characters and tells a story without a lot of action. What she achieves on the page reminds me of the folk art landscape painting where every element is given equal weight and importance:



And like folk art painting, Burnard's book is interesting and worthwhile, but it's not fabulously sophisticated high art either. However, it was good enough to win the 1999 Giller Prize, and that says something.

Why I Read This Now This was a gift in 2002, and so time to read it or pass it on.

Rating: 4 stars

Recommended for: I think this would appeal to the reader who enjoys books by Carol Shields and that sort. I loved Burnard's packed sentences, but others might find them tedious. It is an impressive first novel.

Here's one for my women writers category:

The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey, 2012


I'm inexplicably drawn to book covers that depict water, and I also like the watery colours. The girl is interesting (although this scene never appears in the book), but, Ack! she has no head! Also, this cover sort of screams "chick lit" (if it is indeed possible to sort of scream). In years to come, we'll look back on this and be able to identify within seconds that this book was printed around 2012.

Comments: Although the author claims that the Flight of Gemma Hardy is a "homage" to Jane Eyre, in my eyes it's more of a retelling. Set in Scotland and Iceland, the book is supposed to be updated to the 1960s, but there is a distinct lack of time markers (until the last 1/4), and the book feels very 19th century.

I'm ever intrigued by re-imaginings of earlier works. Occasionally they are spectacular, although often they're a mess. I think the key to a successful reworking is to bring something new to the original, and I can't say Gemma Hardy works in this regard. However, I wouldn't call it a mess, either.

I know this book was a flop for many readers, and I can see their points. I didn't mind it though, and there were certain elements I liked a lot, such as the Scottish and Icelandic setting.

Livesey used some nice imagery, especially with birds, ruins and the sea. I also found it interesting how she used horses in a distinctly negative way. Right at the beginning we learn that Gemma's evil aunt didn't mourn her uncle, but "rode to hounds whenever she could." Any snooty girl in the novel was a member of what she called the "equine cult." Her dear friend Marion was crippled by a horse. And then Hugh Sinclair's sister's downfall was all because "all she really cared about was riding." I thought it was all a little heavy-handed and overkill, unless, I suppose, you want to look at Gemma Hardy as a fairytale (which would be a credible reading).

Recommended for: I think this would make a good vacation read. It flows well, doesn't require intense concentration, and can be fun.

Fans of Jane Eyre either really love this one or hate it. From the comments I've read, the people who prefer the romance reading of Jane Eyre tend to dislike this more than the people who don't read Jane Eyre as a romance. If you've never read Jane Eyre, this book is not a replacement!

Why I Read This Now: a friend lent me her copy with rave reviews and I really needed to return it.

Rating: sort of a balance between like and dislike, leaning toward the like, so I'll give it 3.5 stars.

I wonder why headless people are so often on book covers? Maybe we're supposed to imagine our own head on top of the body in the cover image?

Many theories have been proposed, yours being a popular one. Whatever the reason, it drives me crazy.

I've taken one or two headless photos in my day, but not on purpose.

I'm not one with strong feelings for Jane Eyre (to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure I've ever read it - I may just have seen films), but I could put The Flight of Gemma Hardy on the wishlist for the locales alone.

Maybe the have to pay more to the model if they use her head? Like along the lines of a person in a movie is paid more if he actually has a line. It has puzzled me for a while, too!

One of the oldest books in my closet:

A Student of Weather, Elizabeth Hay, 2000


I think this cover is lush, evocative, and unique. Unfortunately, there is no scene remotely like this in the book--no skinny dipping in a forest pond--not even the mention of a fern. Reading the description on the back cover of the dusty prairies of the great depression, I really did wonder how this cover would fit into the story. It doesn't. Yet another case of the cover designer not having read the book? What else?

Comments: 9 year old Norma Joyce lives on a Saskatchewan farm during the great depression with her father and 18 year old sister. A young man appears in a blizzard, and both girls fall in love with him. The book ends several decades later.

The first half of this novel captivated me with its interesting story and gorgeous writing. However, later half of the book covers Norma Joyce's adult years in Ottawa and New York City, and I didn't really get the point.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I went to Saskatchewan for the weekend, so I wanted to read something set there (although I was in quite a different place!). Also, this is one of the oldest books in my closet.

Recommended for: readers who like literary novels or Canlit.

I have to say book cover images that have nothing to do with the story is one of my pet peeves. Kudos on finishing a book that was losing your interest.

That cover is the last one I would pick for a book about Saskatchewan! I'm with Lori, I like a cover to have some links to the book I am reading. That said, that cover would certain grab my attention and cause me to pick it up for further examination.

Well, although the book is touted as one about Saskatchewan, most of it was set in Ottawa and New York City! So another miss-sell!

I had the book forever, and I'd read the back cover (dusty, depression era Saskatchewan--which my parents both lived through, so I've heard about dusty, depression era Saskatchewan!!), and then I'd look at the front, and it just didn't work for me. Really, if I hadn't gone to Saskatchewan, I don't know when I would have ever made my way to read this book (a friend gave it to me along with a dozen others).

But it's a hard book to describe, so maybe that's the best they could come up with . . . ? I sound really negative about it, and really, most of it was good and lots of it was terrific. Unfortunately, it just sort of faded out . . . Had it been 200 pages, it might have been an almost 5 star read.

Books other people want me to read:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, 2010


I have no opinion on this cover.

Comments: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is Rebecca Skloot’s memoir of writing this book from when, as a teenager in biology class, she learned about amazing HeLa cells and how they came from the cancerous tumor in a woman named Henrietta Lacks. Skloot set off to learn everything she could about the cells (which have been instrumental to modern medical advances, including the developing of the polio vaccination), the cells’ donor, and the donor’s family. To tell this story, she weaves together the science of the cells, what she could learn about the person Henrietta Lacks, the bioethics surrounding the story, and her own struggle to get information from the family.

What I Liked: First, the book was a quick read that I was always happy to pick up. I didn’t know anything about HeLa cells, so that was interesting. And though I think she bungled the bioethics angle of this story, it’s good that she raised the questions “Is it illegal for doctors to take our cells without our knowledge?,” “don’t they have to tell you?,” and, “if they make a ton of money, don’t they have to share it with you?”No easy answers, but a conversation that needs to take place. Anyway . . .

The best part about the book was the short story of Henrietta Lacks’s shockingly sad life. The descendent of slaves, Her life from birth to dying at age 31 from an aggressive cervical cancer is as sad as any story I’ve ever read. Truly heartbreaking. Her story is a snapshot of the cultural and social life for African-Americans living in dire poverty and dysfunction in mid-twentieth century Virginia. If these two topics—the cells, and Henrietta Lack’s life—had been the book, I would agree with all the 5 star ratings. It would have made a fabulous feature-length magazine article, and that’s what it should have been.

What I Didn’t Like: The most interesting thing I learned at university was how books can be “slippery,” especially when the author isn’t aware of the undercurrents that he or she has submerged in the text. From the first paragraph, I detected a troubling overtone. The story she tries to tell here is worthwhile; my problem is in how she tells the story. First, there is way too much about Rebecca Skloot in this book, which is why I described it as her memoir, rather than the story of the woman named in the title. Henrietta Lacks dies in the first third of the book, and I was left wondering what the rest of the book would be about. It then bogs down with all the incidents of Skloot trying to get Lacks’s descendents to cooperate with her. In her portrayal of them she highlights the family’s dysfunction, lack of education, and luridness, and thus denies them dignity and respect. This may sound like a strange comment for those who know that Lacks’s sons were criminals—drug dealers and a murderer—but she should have mentioned it briefly as a matter of fact and not have sensationalized it--it's not the story. Worse is her focus on Deboarh, Lacks’s daughter who was too young to remember her mother. Skloot plays off Deborah’s manic irrationality to show herself as the level-headed voice of reason in this world she’s created of crazy black people. Whether it’s one of the many “hilarious instances of poor people talking nonsense,”* or Henrietta Lacks as the “Magical Negro,”** she presents all the African-Americans as colourful caricatures for the entertainment of the reader.

Skloot also tries to create tension in her book by attempting to make the family victims of the medical establishment. Yes, it’s sad and ironic that the HeLa cells have done so much to advance medical science while the family suffers without medical insurance. But one did not cause the other, and this does not turn the Lacks descendents into victims.

Finally, throughout the book, the Lacks family makes it clear that they do not want to be exploited. Yet, it appears to me that’s exactly what Skloot has done. I could say a lot more, but I will stop here.

I encourage you to read more at:
An Open Letter to Those Colleges and Universities that have Assigned Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as the Common Freshmen Reading for the Class of 2016

Also, read some of the one- and two-star reviews at the US Amazon site, particularly “Got Me Thinking . . . “ and “Cynical Exploitation.”

* The Troubling Trend of the ‘Hilarious’ Black Neighbor> The Troubling Trend of the ‘Hilarious’ Black Neighbor>

** TV Tropes: the Magical Negro

Rating: There are 640 five star reviews at LT, and this book made countless “best of the year” lists, so who am I to criticize it? I’ve read many glowing reviews, and I can see why people really like this book. Obviously, most readers do not have the problems with it that I do. But from the beginning, Skloot rubbed me the wrong way, and a few days after finishing it, my overall impressions are strongly negative. There was enough good stuff In it though that I will balance out the bad and give it three stars.

Why I Read This Now: It was my book club’s May book (which I was okay with since I had a copy in my TBR pile anyway).

Recommended for: well, most people liked it a lot.

>125 Nickelini: I'm glad it's not just me. I listened to the audio version last fall and I was troubled by Skloot's extensive use of first person in the narrative. It took the focus off of Henrietta and Henrietta's family and put it on herself.

Henrietta Lacks is one of the books still waiting on my reading list. Good to know about the first person narrative use by Skloots. Something I will keep in mind when I do get around to reading this one.

Got henrietta lacks on my list to get to this year so will come back and read your review & the links once I'm done

Interesting review of review of henrietta lacks, fact vs sensationalism & I think sometimes its very easy to overlook issues like this and falling into err.. stereotypes would be a polite word if you cone from a position of strength i.e. white or male etc..

Gotta love those Book Sale Discoveries:

First Fruits, Penelope Evans, 2000


This cover drew me to this novel in the first place, but now that I analyze it, I'm not sure what it means.

Comments: Well, this was a find in the bottom of my TBR pile! Set largely in a private girls' school in Scotland, at first it appears that the story is about Kate Carr and her manipulation and the power games she plays with the misfit girls at her school. Told in Kate's very strong first-person narrative voice, it is soon clear that she is an unreliable narrator (my favourite) and is leaving out important information. Some of this is purposeful, but most of it is because she either doesn't know stuff, or doesn't understand what she knows. When Kate goes home, we immediately recognize that she is being manipulated and psychologically abused in a similar way by her father. He is a mesmerizing preacher, and one of the creepiest characters I've met in any book this year. Tension grows as Kate brings home Lydia, the new girl, who is captured under creepy-dad's spell. The publisher has labelled this novel "mystery," but although I would describe it as "mysterious," I would label it "psychological thriller" instead.

The book's weakness is that there were a few too many mean girl scenes, and the scenes were overly detailed, which made them plodding and repetitious. I also would have liked to learn more about her father, and what I think was his break-away Calvinist cult. But other than that, this was a great read. This novel earns solid reviews from critics and readers, but there are only 29 copies in LT, which means a lot of people are missing out on a book they'd probably like. I will definitely look for more books by Penelope Evans in the future.

Recommended for: First Fruits seems like the sort of book that would be nominated for the Orange Prize, so if you like those sorts of books, find yourself a copy.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Why I Read This Now: it was one of the oldest books in my TBR, so time to move it out . . .

Your review of Lacks is fascinating (and thumbed), and First Fruits also looks quite interesting. You write great reviews.

#131 - Thanks! I try to have fun writing them and I try to mention the sorts of things that would help me get interested in a book. Sometimes that strategy works.

Historical fiction

The House I Loved, Tatiana de Rosnay, 2012


I love this cover photo--strolling down an allee, the gravel path, the mansard roof in the distance--this could only be France. And the flowing red dress is perfection. However, there was no scene in the book anything like this, the house in question (although it was a nice house), was on a crowded side street, and that gorgeous dress is obviously 20th century, while the book was set in the mid-19th century. So, yeah, they got the France part right but the rest of it is just silly. And although I like this cover, it does fairly scream "chick lit!"

Rating: one star.

Comments: In high school history I learned about Napoleon III & Baron Haussman's grand project in the 1850s that levelled whole neighbourhoods in order to build the boulevards that helped make Paris a world capital, and I found the story fascinating. When I read the review of The House I Loved, which is set against that historical event, in the Globe & Mail last year, I put it on my wishlist. The story follows Madame Rose Bazelet who is a widow living in her husband's family home, which is slated for demolition. The rest of her neighbourhood has moved out, but she holds on, hiding in the basement and writing letters to her deceased "beloved" husband.

What a disappointment! The main problem is the author's choice to use the epistolary structure. It is entirely artificial and contrived. The entire time I read this, I constantly thought "no one writes letters like this." Halfway through I realized the book reminded me of one of those internet memes that make a statement and follow it with "said no one ever." Here's a meme for you: a picture of me holding up this book and saying "said no one ever." I'll open to any page and give you an example:

". . . she seized my hand, fairly stuttering with emotion as she cried out, 'Oh, but you cannot stay here any longer, Madame Rose!' The house will be pulled down in the next twenty-four hours! It would be madness to stay, you will . . . ' Her eyes met mine, those toffee-colored eyes shining with intelligence, and I looked back at her, calmly, my back straight." Who writes like that in a letter? It's beyond silly.

The House I Loved would have actually made if it had been written in third person point of view instead. However, even then, it still would have been a boring story. There was a "secret" to be revealed at the end, but due to the heavy foreshadowing, it wasn't even a little surprise.

You may ask why I read such a poorly written, boring book. I really shouldn't have, but it was very short, and I really was fascinated by the preposterous writing. At least it was set in Paris.

Recommended for: creative writing instructors to use as an example of how not to use the epistolary structure.

Why I Read This Now: trying to get through a stack of books that friends have loaned me.

I read A Secret Kept a few years back and found the characters in that one to be overly contrived. Drove me crazy as I was reading it. I also read that Globe and Mail article last year and thought about picking up The House I Loved, but if the epistolary structure just doesn't work well, I think I will pass. Sounds like it would be another frustrating read if I did read it. Sad really, as I was hoping to read it for my epistolary category. Thankfully, I have a good list of other epistolary options so no great loss. Great review and thanks for the heads up on this one, Joyce!

Yeah, I'd really stay away from this one. There are great epistolary novels out there that will make for a happier read.

I have only read one Tatiana De Rosney book, Sarah's Key which I found a little off-putting. The story felt contrived and the writing didn't appeal, I wondered if it was due to translation but since then, her books have received very mixed reviews and I think I was right to avoid her.

#136 - And that's one I've heard good things about! Someone gave me a copy, but the story line doesn't even interest me.

I loved Sarah's Key, but I haven't really been motivated to pick up other works by the author. I gave it 5 stars at the time. I suspect that I wouldn't give it that today. (My ratings tend to be lower now than they were at that time -- probably more realistic. I'd probably give it 4 stars now.)

I'm also in the camp that didn't love Sarah's Key. The first half was okay and the second half just terrible.

I was glad I read Sarah's Key because it exposed me to the experiences of French Jews in the Holocaust. However, I disliked the modern part of the story enough that I haven't been motivated to read any of the author's other works.

I could have put this in my 1001 Books category, but since I've owned this copy since 1986! it definitely goes in the Oldest Books in My Closet

Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1934


This is one of a four-book set I bought from the Book of the Month Club in 1986. Not very exciting, but a rather nice set of hardcover editions. Here is the original cover, which is lovely:


Comments, summary: In Book 1 of Tender is the Night, 17 year old Hollywood film star Rosemary Hoyt meets Dick and Nicole Driver, and joins their social world. It’s 1925, and this group of wealthy mostly ex-pat Americans are enjoying life on the French Riviera (and then later, Paris). Although this section is narrated from Rosemary’s point of view, it’s really Dick and Nicole’s story.

Book 2 jumps back to 1917 where we learn that Dick Driver is an up and coming bright young doctor, working at an exclusive psychiatric clinic in Switzerland. Here he meets the much younger Nicole, and although he is treating her, they fall in love and eventually marry. Through a combination of Dick’s charming social skill and Nicole’s great wealth, the Drivers are able to live the lifestyles of the rich and famous. This section ends with beach scene that started the novel.

In Book 3 we see the disintegration of ‘Dicole,’ as they called themselves (and here I thought that Branelina, Tomcat construction was as recent development). As Nicole gets stronger, Dick self-destructs through alcoholism and apathy.

Comments, my thoughts: When I read The Great Gatsby back in the 1980s, I was expecting something quite specific, and was monumentally disappointed. I then tried Tender is the Night, hoping it would deliver, but gave up after a chapter. This time when I started reading it, almost 30 years later, I was surprised by how much I remembered from that chapter, and how my feelings about it were almost exactly the same. But it’s supposed to be a great modernist classic, so I thought I should give it a chance. I’m glad I did, because I had a great time reading Tender is the Night. I can see that it is going to be one of those books that sticks with me for a while.

Critics of the book complain about the non-linear structure, but I think it’s clever. Many readers also complain about the unlikeable characters, and I can see their point—especially in Book 1. I really couldn’t relate to any of them through that part of the story, and I strongly dislike Rosemary. By the time I read through Book 2 I did indeed like Nicole, and Dick to some extent. But what I really enjoyed about this novel was its complexity, symbolism, ambiguity, and layers. I know a lot of readers won’t have the patience or interest (or may lack the reading skills) to explore its literary aspects, but for the reader who enjoys that sort of thing, Tender is the Night is a rewarding experience.

Why I Read This Now: I’ve been meaning to give this another chance ever since I put it down back in the 80s, and with all the hoopla over the new Great Gatsby film, I thought now might be the time.

Recommended for: People who like classics or books about the Roaring 20s. Also, if a reader has been curious about modernist literature and isn’t sure where to start, I think Fitzgerald is a reasonable place to explore first (not as challenging as Virginia Woolf or James Joyce).

Rating: 4 stars

eta: Lois Moran was apparently the muse for Rosemary

After your recommendation of Tender Is the Night, I checked it out on my Kindle and it was part of the daily deal yesterday. I snagged both it and For Whom the Bells Toll which I have long wanted to read.

What scary eyes she has!

All this talk of Fitzgerald -- and your recommendation of him for "modernism" -- has me thinking about reading some more by him.

What scary eyes she has!

I think they're supposed to be smoldering . . . ?

Joyce, I know you are interesting in how a cover looks and I believe we've had the conversation of how tired we are of the recent fad of not showing the faces of the people on the cover. Well, in order to help clear my shelves, I built my TIOLI Challenge for June around these faceless covers. We have set up a thread to post a picture of the covers of the books we are reading for this challenge if you want to come and check it out.

Faceless Covers

Oh fun! Thanks for the link.

->125 Nickelini:
I had no idea that Skloot herself even figured in the book - that changes my perception completely!

Books I've Wanted to Read Forever:

The Witch of Exmoor, Margaret Drabble, 1996



Cover comments: BORING! I really wish I'd read this edition, which I think is not only beautiful, but also fits the story and mood of the book:



Comments: On a beautiful summer evening in Hampshire, esteemed author Frieda Haxby’s three middle-aged children and their spouses meet to decide what to do about her. Although she has always independent and eclectic, her recent move from London to a rotting abandoned hotel on a cliff in Exmoor has convinced them that she has gone mad. When she mysteriously disappears, they are beside themselves, though most of their concern surrounds their inheritance rather than her well-being. Haxby’s children are all a little self-centred, and the narrator makes sure we dislike them. This is a novel of family dynamics, but it’s also a state of the nation novel, complete with scathing satirical commentary on corporate greed and consumerism, human rights issues, the struggling health care system, and toxins in our food and environment.

Drabble is an absolute pleasure for me to read. The Witch of Exmoor is a post-modern fairy tale, told by a strong narrator who makes it clear that she is telling you a story. She does this by playing with layers of storytelling techniques—family stories, historical tales, classical mythology, Nordic mythology, the stories we tell ourselves, nation-building stories, Bible stories, advertising, poetry, Shakespeare, 19th century literature, lies, and so on. She also weaves through this themes of death (by drowning and suicide), dreams, decay, and nature (especially birds and sealife). Some readers will find this narrator overly intrusive and aggressive, and I can see their point. But I thought it cleverly complimented the fairytale structure of the story.

Recommended for: definitely recommended. Margaret Drabble draws extensively on literary allusion, so her books would appeal to the well-read person who enjoys detail. The novels Drabble wrote after about 1980 earned some harsh reviews, but I very much like her writing. The famous critic James Woods wrote a scathing review on the Witch of Exmoor, but I think he missed the point of the novel, or at least completely missed its charm.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. I almost made this 5 stars, but the ending wasn’t quite satisfying enough.

Why I Read This Now: I read my first Margaret Drabble last year(the Red Queen) and wanted to read more from her. If these two are considered her lesser novels, I have some great reading ahead of me. On to my favourite authors list she goes.

>125 Nickelini: - I am to read it for this month's female writers

Historical fiction:

The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell, 2004, audiobook


An aesthetically pleasing cover. This is book one of a series, and taken together, they make an attractive set.

Comments: Uhtred is the son of a 9th century Northumbrian lord, and is orphaned and taken hostage in a Viking attack. He becomes a pawn, and then double-agent, in the wars between the Danes and Alfred, King of Wessex.

I've read a lot of historical fiction, and I've developed strong likes and dislikes in the genre. One of the things I strongly dislike is the endless battle scene, another is tiresome political maneuvering. This book is almost all one long battle. Also, The Last Kingdom is an entirely androcentric world, with a few females mentioned only as chattels or potential rape vessels. What did I expect, considering this novel is about Vikings? I expected more . . . I've read non-fiction about Vikings, and have seen numerous documentaries, and actually, they weren't at war all day, every day. And last I checked, the populations of both medieval England and Scandinavia were 50% female. I really wanted to hear more about their day to day lives, and not endless battles full of war strategy and bloodshed. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointing bore.

Rating: Sorry, can't give it more than one star. I have no problem with the technical aspects of the writing, although there really wasn't much story arc--it starts with a battle, then there are some battles, and then it ends and the reader is supposed to go on to the next book in the series.

Recommended for: Cornwell has an excellent reputation for well-researched novels, and I'm sure this one is no exception. It was just so very boring. I'm sure someone who doesn't notice when half the population is missing from a novel, and who likes reading action scenes will find this a good read. Obviously, I'm not the target audience for this one.

Why I Read This Now: it was an audiobook I had, and was short. I also own a paper copy, which I occasionally read (good thing, as the audio book was missing the last page and a half along with the author's historical notes at the end.)

Well, The Last Kingdom drops off the wishlist - I put it on because of the Viking, but boring and with only battles, I'll pass. Thanks for the reverse bookbullet. :)

I really don't mean to steer people away from books they might like, but . . . I was hoping to learn more about Viking culture, and I didn't. So if that's your aim, then you may want to miss this one (unless it's battle culture you seek, I suppose). One that I think holds some promise is the Greenlanders by Jane Smiley. I lent my copy out and it never came back however, so I have to hunt down another copy to read, I guess. Have you read that one?

I don't mind battles, but I know for a fact Vikings did other things too..

I haven't read The Greenlanders yet, but it is on Mt. TBR, albeit in Sweden... And, it almost came home with me this year, but my mum said she wanted to read it first, so hopefully on next year's trip!

I don't mind battles, but I know for a fact Vikings did other things too..

Oh good. I was starting to doubt myself!

You will be telling me next they didn't wear horns on their heads.. :)

You're right--they didn't! That's in the historical notes in the back of the Last Kingdom ;-)

Non-fiction

This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor, Susan Wicklund, 2007


I like the isolated farmhouse and the brooding sky--and this setting was important in the book, so it fits.

Comments: This is a compelling memoir of a doctor who travelled between Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, and Minneapolis working at abortion clinics. What stood out was the great compassion and care she gave each of her patients--while at the same time fending off dangerous protesters, and hospitals that prioritized billing protocol over patient well-being (and common sense). Her stories of run-ins with anti-choice extremists were scary and deeply disturbing (frequent death threats, home broken into, cornered late at night in a parking lot, frequently held hostage in her home when they blocked off her driveway, and followed everywhere she went), but the stories that really got me were the individual patient stories. I am not a crier, but I had tears in my eyes three or four times while reading the gut-wrenching stories of what some women go through before ending up at an abortion clinic. Other stories showed the head shaking hypocrosy of the anti-choice protesters (several who ended up in her clinic seeking abortions for themselves). The book is written in simple, clear language, and I wouldn't call it literary, but it gripped me from the beginning and I whizzed through it in less than a day. Literary?, no, but some pretty good writing all the same.

Recommended for: I definitely recommend this for anyone who is interested in this, or is interested in human rights.

Why I Read This Now: it just sort of fell open in front of me.

Rating: 4.5 stars

I also found This Common Secret really interesting. It's difficult to imagine having a career so emotionally taxing, then dealing with protesters and threats on top of it!

I know--it's amazing that anyone would do this job--it would be so much easier to just be a dermatologist.

->155 clfisha:
Of course they did - see: http://www.librarything.com/topic/133988#3480548

->154 Nickelini:
I'd recommend The Long Ships for a slighly more accurate view of Vikings.

Finally got around to reading a Booker book:

Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively, 1987


Cover comments: This is a 1989 edition and reflects the fashion of that time. Looks dated now, but it's really not bad, actually.

Comments: Here is the summary of Moon Tiger: it is a 76 yr old woman’s reflections of her life as she lies on her deathbed.

Even if she had an interesting life (which Claudia did indeed), the premise is still bo-ring! But the catch is that one doesn’t read Moon Tiger for the story. Instead, one reads it for the writing and technique—this is a book for literature lovers. Claudia is a feisty and sometimes abrasive character that some readers won’t warm to, but I rather liked her determination and independence. Mostly though, what I really liked is her narrative voice, whether she’s speaking in the first person or being described in the third. The narrative point of view is what makes this novel special. Many scenes are told two or three times, from different viewpoints, some of which Claudia wasn’t aware of. I also loved how Lively subtly repeats details that seem insignificant yet symbolize the important points of the story—for example, the moon tiger of the title, which is a mosquito coil that burns down while Claudia lies in bed with her lover (and doesn’t protect her from coming down with malaria fever anyway).

I didn’t fully embrace the book, however. About a third of the way through, Claudia shares her memories of her time in Egypt as a journalist during WWII. This is the pivotal point in her life, but after 30 pages of it, I put Moon Tiger aside and read three other books. When I picked it up, I went back to where Lively had lost me and started again. Part of it might be that I’ve read my fill of WWII stories, but even knowing this section was important, I didn’t enjoy the book again until she went back to life in Europe. I also found her WWII lover’s diary at the end pretty boring. I trust this is just my aversion to WWII stories, and won’t have anything to do with other reader’s tastes. Despite finding the book uneven, I still think it was worthy of the Booker Prize in 1987.

Recommended for: fiction writers, who need to study her point of view techniques, literature lovers and people who want to read the Booker Prize winners, and readers who like non-linear, subtle novels.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to reading more from Penelope Lively.

Why I Read This Now: I’m reading all the new-to-me authors in my TBR pile who are named “Penelope.” (Penelope Lively, Penelope Fitzgerald, and Penelope Evans—check!) and I’m reading all the Bookers in my TBR pile.

#160 Of course they did - see: http://www.librarything.com/topic/133988#3480548

Eva, that's funny!

Moon Tiger is one of my favourites (I would always give it five out of five stars). Glad you enjoyed it even if you didn't think it as perfect as me! Do read some more by her - she's a very reliable writer.

#163 - and I can see why someone would think this book perfect. It's good to hear from a fan! I will defintiely read more from Lively, as I now have several by her in my TBR. I'm finding that I'm enjoying all the women writers from the UK born between about 1930 and 1955 who have rec'd some sort of recognition--they're all new to me and turning out to be my favourites. Not just Penelopes Lively, Fitzgerald, and Evans, but also Margaret Drabble, Rose Tremain, Edna O'Brien (Irish but doesn't live there), Elizabeth Taylor, Susan Hill, etc.

Have you read Margaret Forster - I think she would fall into your category of British women writers born between 1930 and 1955? I've recently read The Unknown Bridesmaid by her which I gave five stars too.

She's a new one. Thanks for pointing her out--I'll add her to my wish list.

. . . and Margaret is another good author name . . . Margaret Drabble, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence. I'm sure there are many more.

World Literature:

the Sky People, Patricia Grace, 1994


Cover comments: I pretty much like any cover done with intense blues, so I like this one too.

Comments: The Sky People is a collection of short stories by Maori writer Patricia Grace. Most of them concern Maoris who live in modern day New Zealand and are at the low side of the socioeconomic ladder.

I was disappointed with most of the stories. Grace writes in a cryptic style with many unexplained point of view changes, changes in voice, and unusual words and sentence structures. I got the feeling the author was saying "if you don't understand me, I'm not going to explain it to you." Of the stories that were a little more straight forward, I still had trouble determining the point of the story. Despite this, a few of the short stories were really excellent. My favourite was "Ngati Kangaru" where a Maori family launches a plan to take back New Zealand using the same methods Europeans used to conquer it themselves. Funny and clever.

Recommended for: someone looking for Maori literature.

Rating: 3 stars

Why I Read This Now: Time for something different. Got to shake it up a little.

Another non-fiction book:

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True, Guy P. Harrison, 2012


Cover comments: whatever--it works.

Comments: Skeptical journalist Harrison writes fifty short essays on different things that are widely believed but are unsupported by scientific evidence. He covers a range of topics, from Magical Thinking (mostly paranormal ideas), various alien-related topics, science and medicine (global warming, "Biological Races are Real," "No Vaccines for my Baby!"), religion, bizarre beings (ghosts, Bigfoot), weird places (Bermuda Triangle), and the end of the world.

I've enjoyed reading this book over the last six months, picking it up and reading an essay or two at a time. I think reading it all at once would be too much and it would get annoying. The whole book can basically be condensed down to: "using the scientific method, there is no evidence to support ______ belief." That doesn't make this book unnecessary or useless, as it's a good example of using critical thinking skills in a variety of situations. Also, I found specific essays very helpful--the one that stands out the most is "A Psychic Read My Mind," because I have too many friends who have actually paid money to psychics and think they provide a valuable service. This essay shows how psychics are 100% scammers, but now I have information to back up what I felt in my gut.

Overall, I found Harrison's tone kind and respectful, unless he's talking about people who murder children in Africa because they believe them to be witches, or televangelists who fly on private jets while taking money from poor people. And he shows how even intelligent and educated people can be led into believing things that make no sense. So, in the end, a worthwhile read, but not one to take in one big gulp.

Recommended for: I think this might be one of those books that appeals most to the already-skeptical reader, but I hope not. I hope that someone who believes "Astrology is Scientific," will read this too. And I highly recommend it if you're tired of hearing your Uncle Len tell you that the moon landing was faked, or you have a co-worker who tells you that they found Noah's ark (again), or your best friend from grade 8 keeps posting stuff about aliens in Area 51 on your Facebook feed.

Rating 4 stars

I wouldn't have read this book if not for book sale discoveries

We are the Weather Makers, Tim Flannery, 2006 (Canadian edition 2007)


Polar bear on a small iceberg-- poster child for climate change

Comments: This is a 250 page summary of the issues of climate change (as of 2006). I've read a lot about on these subjects, so this book was more of a refresher course for me, with some different (and very interesting) stories and illustrations. Flannery takes some pretty dense and complex information and makes it easy to understand and interesting to read about. He is Australian and uses a broad range of examples from around the world--not just the US, which is a refreshing change from the typical US-centric stuff that seems to fall into my hands. My Canadian edition has a forward by David Suzuki and an extensive resource list.

The book is a "concise and revised edition" of the author's the Weather Makers, written for "for readers age 12 and up." There are three sentences in the final chapter directed at non-adults, otherwise there is nothing about the writing that is particularly directed at a young audience, so don't let the "young adult" tags scare you off this book if you're otherwise interested.

Recommended for: anyone looking for a crash course on climate change. I hope that Flannery updates this book, because some of the information and statistics are dated.

Rating: This is a difficult book to rate because the information wasn't new to me, and because some of it is dated. For what I got out of it, I'm giving it 3 stars, but for someone else this could be a 5 star book.

Why I Read This Now: I was in the mood for some non-fiction, and this was physically at the top of the pile.

Booker Prize

The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai, 2006


What a terrible cover! I asked my husband what he thought the book was about based on it, and he said "sex," to which I said, "not three people in northern India trying to survive the Nepalese insurgency while a fourth character is struggling to get a foothold in NYC?" There's a faint little Mendhi sort of design at the bottom, but otherwise there is nothing remotely Indian about this. Probably the worst cover I've come across this year.

Comments: It is 1986 and in the foothills of the Himalayas lives a retired Judge, his granddaughter, and his cook. The cook's only son is trying to scratch out a better life in NYC. They get caught up in the unrest as the Nepalese in the area attempt to break away from India.

Desai's writing is absolutely gorgeous. She crafts her story in vignettes, and I found each of these interesting, although together they added up to a somewhat plotless novel. As with every story of India, there is disturbing unfairness and sad events; however, The Inheritance of Loss was not as distressing as some other Indian books I've read. She paints a rather enchanting picture of this corner of the country--full of exotic butterflies, colourful flowers, and oriental spices. Overall I found this a romanticized view of India.



Recommended for: readers who like books set in India have to read this one for sure.

Rating: No doubt this is a quality novel, so I'm giving it 4 stars. I have to admit though that I was never really in the mood to read it and had to make myself pick it up--this, however, is because my mind is elsewhere, and not a fault of the book itself.

Why I Read This Now: It won the Booker, was nominated for the Orange, is on the 1001 Books list, and was loaned to me in 2010.

Off the top of my head, I'm not sure if Inheritance of Loss is on my wish list or not, but I love books that are set in India, so if it isn't there I am adding it. You are right about the cover, so many images could have been used, why go for this overdone look?

I know, right! The thing that really irks me is that the women doesn't look even a little bit Indian. This is a much better cover:

Although I'd heard of the author, I'd never have picked this up if it wasn't for the Book Sale Discovery

A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby, 2005

Cover comments: Hardback without a dust jacket--black with "Nick Hornby" written vertically in blue. Nice for a plain black cover ;-)

Comments: Four very different people meet on the rooftop of a building in North London on New Years Eve where they have each had the same idea of committing suicide. They form a sort of dysfunctional support group.

I've never read Hornby before, but I've seen films of his books About a Boy and Fever Pitch, both of which I enjoyed. Hornby has a gift for creating clever, heart-felt, unique, and very funny characters and situations. I particularly enjoyed the use of multiple narrators to tell this story because each of them had a different take on the situation. One character, Jess (an 18 year old girl), is a selfish spoiled brat, but her character is balanced by Maureen--a lovely soul--who has spent the past 20 years caring for her severely disabled son.

Recommended for: humour is subjective, so I'm sure some readers can't stand Hornby. I found him to be a delight to read. It's not often that you find intelligence and humour wrapped up in one book.

Why I Read This Now: I was in the mood for something different, and also something set in London. Perfect choice in that regard.

Rating: 4 stars

Also: There is a film version of A Long Way Down coming out later this year. Toni Collette (who played the hippy trippy mom in About a Boy) will play Maureen, and Pierce Brosnan will play Martin. Pretty good casting, I think. I'm looking forward to this.

About a Boy is hilarious! The book and the movie. So is High Fidelity for that matter (the book - I can't remember the movie). I will have to check this one out as well as I am fast becoming a fan.

Nice review of A Long Way Down. I've seen the movie About a Boy, and really enjoyed it and have been meaning to give Nick Hornby's books a try for a while now. Looks like A Long Way Down is going to head up the list, especially if there's a movie coming out. It sounds really good. Thanks for the nudge torwards Hornby and the BB!

Ooh, good to know about the movie version of A Long Way Down. I enjoyed the book so am looking forward to a movie version.

The Small Hand, Susan Hill, 2010


Cover comments: gorgeous cover that suits the book perfectly, so this goes in my Beautiful Book Covers category.

Comments: Driving through the violet twilight in Sussex, Adam Snow takes some wrong turns and ends up at an abandoned Edwardian mansion with expansive overgrown gardens. A small hand slips into his, and his dizzying and strange experience begins.

The Small Hand is a ghost story set in current times but it's written with an old-fashioned feeling that I rather like. Snow is an antiquarian book dealer, and the subplot of his finding a Shakespeare First Folio and traveling to a monastery high in the French mountains was actually more interesting to me than the ghost story itself. I have to say I don't scare easily in either books or film, and I didn't find this book scary at all, or even creepy. Still, it was an entertaining and quick read.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Recommended for: if you think you might like it, give it a try.

Why I Read This Now: Wanted to read one of the several Susan Hill books in my TBR.

I also really liked A Long Way Down...loved the musician character (can't remember his name) and Maureen so much!

I really like this book cover, although "beautiful" isn't exactly how I'd describe it. Still, this fits best int he "Beautiful Book Covers" group.

Hawksmoor, Peter Ackroyd, 1985


Cover comments: this is one of the Penguin Decades editions. The five 1980s books have covers by John Squire, and this one is the best. It appears to be a black chalk board, with at least two different scripts written on it, which fits the book perfectly. One of my favourite covers this year.

Comments: Hawksmoor is two parallel stories, told in alternating chapters. It begins with the first-person voice of Nicholas Dyer, an assistant to Christopher Wren in early 18th century London. His story is told in language Ackroyd learned from intense study of documents from that era. The other chapters are set in London of the 1980s and we are eventually introduced to Nicholas Hawksmoor, a police detective trying to solve a string of murders where the victims are found in historical churches--real churches that were designed by the 18th century architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.

I find this book really difficult to describe, and my best advice is to read StevenTX's review on the book's page. I agree with everything he says.

It reminded me a lot of another Ackroyd book, The House of Doctor Dee in that there are two story lines set a few hundred years apart, with common echoes and threads that run between them. Of the two novels, I preferred Hawksmoor. The 18th century dialogue, although still not fun, was better done here.

Hawksmoor is very dark, but it is also a terrifically clever and complex novel, with some interesting intertextuality (and I'm sure a good deal of intertextuality that went right over my head), but for the most part wasn't a particularly fun or enjoyable read.

Why I Read This Now: I collect the Penguin Decades editions, and this one is also on the 1001 books list, so I've had it for a while. I pulled it out at this point through since I was staying in Limehouse, a part of London figured prominently in the novel. I had a good laugh, reading it while I was actually there, and learning about the homeless population, the derelict houses and abandoned warehouses that made up the area in the 1980s. Now the area is full of million pound condos and gastro-pubs owned by Gordon Ramsey and Ian McKellen (Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings movies, among a zillion other roles). How things change.


Nina in front of The Grapes, Ian McKellen's pub and restaurant on Narrow Street, Limehouse.

Rating: I agree with StevenTX 4 star rating, even though I didn't enjoy large parts of the book. I plan to reread this one day, just because I think it has so many interesting things going on. I've read several Peter Ackroyd books, and I like his ideas better than his execution. There's an excellent article on this book at Wikipedia, which helped me understand what's going on, and it includes this quotation:

"Peter Ackroyd himself is a harsh critic of his novel:

"I certainly haven’t looked at Hawksmoor again, I wouldn’t dare; I’m so aware of all the weaknesses in it, it’s an embarrassment. ... The modern sections are weak, not in terms of language, but weak in terms of those old-fashioned characteristics of plot, action, character, story; they are rather sketches, or scenarios, and that rather disappoints me about it. But at the time I didn’t know anything about writing fiction, so I just went ahead and did it. It’s only recently I’ve come to realize you’re meant to have plots and stories and so on. (Nicholas Dyer’s voice is) strong, but in part it is a patchwork of other people’s voices as well as my own. Actually it’s not really strong at all ... but what it is, is an echo from about three hundred different books as well as my own. He doesn’t really exist as a character—he’s just a little patchwork figure, like his author. ... You see, I was very young then and I didn’t realize that people had to have definite characters when they appeared in fiction. I saw it as a sort of linguistic exercise; it never occurred to me that they had to have a life beyond words."


St. Anne's, Limehouse -- a Nicholas Hawksmoor church and setting for one of the murders in the novel.

Recommended for: not sure. Maybe people who like unusual, dark,

A wonderfully enticing review of Hawksmoor, Joyce! What a great experience to read the book while staying in Limehouse. It's fascinating to encounter or read about communities from the point of view of their rather recent past and see a completely different community before your eyes.

Reading about a place you know does make for a better read. I must say, the last time I was anywhere near Limehouse, there were no gastro-pubs around, that's for sure. :)

One to write down under "Women Writers"

Case Histories, Kate Atkinson, 2004


Cover comments: Boring! My book also has six pages of reviewer blurbs on the inside and back covers and no description of the novel--hype and no substance (for any publishers out there, those blurbs make my eyes glaze over and do not convince me to read any book).

Rating: 4 stars for the book + .5 star for extra enjoyment factor = four and a half stars

Comments: The book opens with three detailed and unrelated stories: two crimes that have gone cold (a missing 3 year old child and a the slaying of a young woman by a stranger) and a seemingly straightforward murder. These make up the "Case Histories" along with some later introduced crimes. The link between them becomes the ex-cop PI Jackson Brodie.

Case Histories grabbed me right from the first page, and I flew through it in a little over a day. I loved the different stories, and Atkinson's great skill at showing the humanity, tragedy, and comedy of her characters. I also loved how she captured bits of culture in her story telling. But her strong point is definitely in creating interesting, unique characters. I especially appreciated her courage to depict several unhappy mothers--my heart especially ached for Rosemary (the mother of the Land girls). No homage to the cult of motherhood here, thank you very much.

Case Histories is a popular novel here at LT; however, it has also earned a number of negative 2-star reviews. Most of the readers who don't like it point out three different things. First, it's billed as a mystery but doesn't follow the traditional structure of a mystery story (there's not that much detective work for the reader to do), second, it's too disjointed, and three, the characters are unlikeable or uninteresting. These to me were all strong areas of the novel--not much of a mystery reader myself, and I loved the disjointed structure, and I thought the characters were fascinating--warts and all. Some readers complained that the ending was too coincidental, but I see Atkinson creating a story here--not trying to recreate life. In the end I thought this was a smart, terrific read.


My daughter shot this yesterday when I couldn't put Case Histories down but also had to go water my dry garden.

Recommended for: unless you are a traditionalist when it comes to mystery stories, or you're someone who doesn't like multiple storylines and nonlinear stories, I think you should give this a try.

Why I Read This Now: It had been in my TBR pile since 2008.

Great review of Case Histories and love the photo of you multi-tasking, Joyce.

A++ multitasking! :)

Great photo! That is the true sign of a good book.

Excellent photo! Housework is the reason I got started on audiobooks in the first place. :)

Yes! Housework and yard work (and painting) are a wonderful match with audiobooks.

I loved Case Histories when I read it last year and hope to fit the next Jackson Brodie story in to this years' Challenge.

Finally, one for my ChildLit/YA category:

The Amulet of Samarkand, Jonathan Stroud, 2004


Cover comments: Well, the black and teal are pleasing. But the art? It says to me "this is not the book for you." The creature looks like one of those hideous beasts that people get tattooed across their shoulder that make me wonder "really? you want to look at THAT for the rest of your life? Are you sure this makes a statement you really want to convey?"

Comments: Bartimaeus is a 5000 year old djinni who an 11 year old magician's apprentice named Nathaniel summons for help. Nathaniel is potentially a magician genius who is training under a weak and uninspired master. When a more powerful magician insults Nathaniel and his master doesn't defend or protect him, Nathaniel swears to get his revenge. In the process he gets himself involved in events that reach to the highest level of the British government, and are also way beyond his powers. The Amulet of Samarkand is told in alternating chapters--first person narration by the cheeky djinni Bartimaeus, and third person narration focusing on Nathaniel.

What I Liked About the Novel: you may have guessed that this is not the type of book I normally enjoy. However, I did like the alternate London that the story is set in, and I enjoyed the humour and clever use of language.

What I Didn't Like:Bartimaeus is an entertaining enough main character, but as a djinni, there's really no expectation with character growth or revealing information. It's hard to put a lot of depth into a magical being. As for Nathaniel, one of his main motivations is pride, and when he's not faking power, he's sniveling. He wasn't all that easy to cheer for, and not even Bartimaeus liked him. But what I disliked the most is that the book was too long (462 p) and had far too many action scenes--which is to be expected from this genre and is why I don't often read books like The Amulet of Samarkand. It's not a stupid book by any means--just not my sort of thing.

Recommended for: The Amulet of Samarkand combines an alternate England setting like we experienced in the Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, the young boy learning magic that we found in Harry Potter, and the fun word play that we enjoyed in The Series of Unfortunate Events. If you liked those books, give this one a try too.

Why I Read This Now: I did like all of those books to some degree, and my daughter wanted me to read this. It's good leave your comfort zone once in a while.

Rating 3 stars.

I read that one this year too (or rather, listened to) and liked Bartimaeus a lot (the audio narrator did him very well), but I absolutely agree about Nathaniel. I thought perhaps later installments would have him a little more mature, but when I tried the next in the series, I just couldn't be bothered and gave up on it.

I can see that an audio book narrator could have a lot of fun with Bartimaeus!

And with this I complete my "women writers" category:

An Experiment in Love, Hilary Mantel, 1995


I rather like this cover, and I think it spoke to me the most out of my stack of potential Hilary Mantel reads. It has that swingin' London feel to it. However, it is the cliche "walker away" shot, and also, it doesn't illustrate the main character in the novel, who moves to London and cuts her hair very short (and then dyes it bright red). It could conceivably be Julia, but why would you put Julia on the front cover? Another example of the publisher just slapping any old thing on the cover. They don't get it.

Comments: It's 1970, and Carmel McBain arrives in London from the north to start university. Living in her residence is a Julia, a friend from home, and also Karina, who Carmel has had a rocky relationship with most of her life. An Experiment in Love goes back and forth between life as a poor student, and her early life as a poor Catholic school girl.

I didn't know when I started An Experiment in Love that the main character would struggle with a form of anorexia, and I'm always interested in seeing how different authors treat eating disorders in fiction. So that was a bonus for me. I also didn't know that this novel was a bit of a homage to The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark, so that was sort of fun too.

I have NO idea what the title means, or how it relates to the book.

Why I Read This Now: somehow I came to own 7 Hilary Mantel books without ever having read her. I know this probably wasn't the one to start with, and I should probably read Wolf Hall*, but it's just so long, and I'm still Tudor-ed out, and I've been scared off by the whole pronoun thing I've heard so much about . . . but one day.

*Nice how the touchstone for Wolf Hall gives me To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and no option to pick the actual book. I know, I know, that Wolf Hall book is just too obscure. Sheesh.

Rating: 4 stars

Recommended for: readers who like well-written novels and think the subject sounds interesting.

"somehow I came to own 7 Hilary Mantel books without ever having read her"
Haha! Change "Hilary Mantel" into any of an assortment of writers and I'm guilty too - I have tried to curb my hoarding, but I fail a lot... :)

#194 - Eva, I think "hoarding" has such ugly connotations. Surely what we do isn't hoarding. Collecting, maybe.

LOL - part of my 12-step is admitting I have a problem. :)

Completing my Booker category with:

Offshore, Penelope Fitzgerald, 1979


Cover comments: Okay, but doesn't capture the feel of the book--it reminds me of the sunny and charming Regents Canal instead of the grey, smelly Thames. Also, it doesn't draw me in. But it's not hideous or anything.

Rating: 4 stars

Comments Offshore is Penelope Fitzgerald's Booker-winning short novel about an eclectic group of nice people who live on houseboats, or barges, moored along the Battersea Reach of the Thames in the 1960s. This novel's strongest asset, to me, is all the characters, especially six-year old Tilda, who is probably unrealistically adult, but delightful anyway. I found all the characters and their liminal lives to be well-drawn and interesting.

Offshore is one of those controversial Booker winners, as described in this worth-reading article in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/mar/13/booker-prize-fitzgerald-o... It may not have been the best book nominated in 1979, but it certainly has depth and shows Fitzgerald's talent at saying something meaningful with only a few words.

Recommended for: readers who like books with strong, unusual characters.

Why I Read This Now: all the talk about Bookers on LT made me want to read one of the winners that I have in my TBR pile.

Hurray for completing another category!

Congrats on completed category!!

198 & 199 - Thanks! Not sure if you noticed that I only have 3 slots in each category, so really, not much of an achievement. Still, I'll take cheers where I can get them. Next year I think I'll do 10 categories of 4 books, so a tiny bit more to cheer on, but not really ;-)

Three less on Mt. TBR or the to-read list is absolutely an achievement, well worth the cheer! :)

so far behind but catching up! I keep picking up Hawksmoor, think I may have to actually get it and read it now. I love his churches & I am a sucker for anything related since From Hell

#202 - Well, for me Hawksmoor is the sort of book I need to be in the mood for, but when that mood strikes, it's great.

another one for Non-fiction: Shame, Jasvinder Sanghera, 2007


Cover comments: I really like the shiny ruby-red foil letters. As for the picture . . . it’s okay, I guess, other than it looks like my daughter’s 12 year old English-Greek friend rather than the Indian teenager it’s supposed to be . . . see my cover comments on The Inheritance of Loss, above. What’s up with this white washing of Indian book covers? Anyone who picks up either of these books will know in seconds that the stories are about Indian people. I know that there are Indians who have light skin and eyes and look more European, but I don’t think that’s who the publishers are representing here. Yet another publisher embarrassing themselves by their cultural insensitivity.

Comments Shame is a gripping memoir that I read in under 24 hours. When she is 15, British born and raised Jasvinder, a Sikh girl, is told it is time to marry the man her parents have picked out for her—a stranger from India who she hasn’t met. She only wants to finish school and maybe even go to university. Having watched her older sisters enter miserable forced marriages that they are told to shut up and endure, she refuses to get married, and her parents lock her under house arrest. With the help of a friend’s older brother, she escapes. A month or so later, a police officer convinces her to contact her family. She hopes that she has made her point and that they will let her come home. She is shocked to hear that they consider her dead to them and they hope that she becomes destitute and is forced to live in the gutter.

*warning: spoilers below*

She eventually marries the brother, Jassey, they have a daughter, start several businesses, and buy houses. Unfortunately, because she left home while still very much a child, and because her parents didn’t teach her any life or coping skills, and because she had no healthy relationships on which to model her marriage, Jasvinder screws up and her marriage ends. This is followed by another failed marriage and two more children.

Throughout this, Jasvinder painfully misses her family, and at times reconnects with some of her six sisters and occasionally her parents (but never her one brother, who was raised by his parents to be a spoiled, entitled loser). Most of her contact with her family, however, involves her helping them out without them ever supporting her. One of her sisters tries to leave an abusive relationship but her family and the community leaders tell her she has to stay with her husband. The next week the sister burns to death. Officially it is deemed a suicide, but Jasvinder wonders if it was murder. Spurred by this tragedy, . . . .

*end spoilers*

. . . she vows to help the voiceless women who are suffering in the south Indian community. She starts a charity, http://www.karmanirvana.org.uk/, earns her A levels and then a university degree. Through her charity, she is successful in gaining recognition for honour killings and the problem of forced marriage in the UK—a problem that most people didn’t realize existed at the time. The book ends with some horrific cases of honour killings that she has come across in the UK. This was published in 2007 and followed by two sequels. This year (2013), she was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Jasvinder’s story takes place in the Sikh community in the UK, but similar stories happen in other cultural groups throughout the world. The cultures and religions vary, but hers is an unfortunately too common problem. That said, I’ve had two close Sikh friends, and many Sikh acquaintances, and Jasvinder’s story is extreme. I just wouldn’t want someone to read this book on my recommendation and then walk away thinking that this is the norm for Sikhs (at least it isn’t in my experience).

Recommended for: this is one of those books that I give a broad recommendation as a must read for everyone, especially anyone who is unaware that forced marriage is a problem in Europe and North America (and Australia, and New Zealand). As I write this, teenagers are preparing to return to school. How many won’t be returning to start this new school year? Shame reminds me in many ways of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel, although narrower in scope. But both are memoirs written by brave women who chose to stand up for themselves and not agree to be sacrificed for some traditional concept of “family honour.” Both women over came considerable odds to get an education, and now are using their brains and experience to assist others.

Rating: 4.5 stars—one of the more compelling books I’ve read this summer. It’s a memoir, so don’t expect a literary masterpiece. Some readers complain that they don’t like Jasvinder because she makes stupid decisions, mistreats her first husband (who is made to look like a saint), and is sometimes selfish. Just a little lacking in insight. Okay, a lot lacking in insight. I guess if they ran away from an abusive situation while still a child, with no life skills, and made their own way in the world, they would be likeable, cheerful, and perfect at all times. (Was I just being sarcastic?)

Why I Read This Now: . . . not sure. Why DID I pick this up? Anyway, glad I did.

Wow! This sounds like it would be a good addition to my high school library, especially since she is a teenager during part of the story. (adding it to my wishlist)

It's a book that definitely would be a good addition to high school libraries in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand (and brought to the attention of teachers as well!).

Beautiful covers (could also be historical fiction, women writers, Canlit)

Conceit, Mary Novik , 2007


Cover comments: I love, love, love this cover. It’s lush and gorgeous. The crackle effect over the painting adds polish, the dash of crimson is just the right shade, and the typeface used for the title is perfect. One of my favourite covers this year. The book designer is CS Richardson, who I could swear I’ve run into recently with another great cover.

Comments: Conceit is an exquisitely detailed historical novel about the great English poet John Donne, seen in the most part through the eyes of Pegge, one of his many daughters. Novik effectively uses Donne’s poetry in the character’s dialogue, which adds a richness to the novel. I particularly enjoyed the colourful and tactile language she used in the sections concerning Pegge’s husband, who was tailor to the king. I also enjoyed the flashbacks to Donne’s romance with his wife Ann More.

Rating: I feel bad giving this novel only 3 stars, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me overall. I attribute this not to any fault of the author, but to my lack of interest in the subject matter. Through my literature and history courses at university, I always found the 17th century to be the least interesting time period (although why should it be? A king is beheaded! London burns! Plague! But still, it just doesn’t appeal to me). Further, when I studied John Donne I found him to be very difficult but not rewarding (as opposed to Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Virginia Woolf who I find also difficult, but ultimately very rewarding).

Recommended for: I highly recommend Conceit for anyone who enjoys intellectual historical fiction and is also interested in the 17 century and John Donne. When published, the novel earned rave reviews, and was nominated for the Giller Prize, among many other accolades.

Why I Read This Now: I saw more 17 century sights on my recent stay in London than I expected to, and it piqued my interest in the time period. Conceit has been in my TBR since 2008 but because my aversion for the era, I hadn’t felt like reading it. Alas, at the end of it, I’m still not a 17th century fan.

Great reviews!! I can't comment on each one since there are so many good ones, but I really love your points about the covers and publishers "white washing" them. Do they think the readers are stupid?

My very favorite picture on the entire thread is YOU watering the garden reading Case Histories. I thoroughly enjoyed it too, but my multitasking is nowhere close to good enough to be able to pull that off!! Good for you!! :)

CanLit

Nikolski, Nicolas Dickner, 2005/ translator Lazer Lederhendler, 2008


Cover comments: I love this playful quirky cover. The whole book (not just the cover) was designed by CS Richardson, who designed the lovely book I read last (Conceit). The actual images are from The Narrative of the Perry Expedition of Japan, 1858.

Comments: Like its cover, Nikolski is one quirky and playful book. Noah, Joyce, and an unnamed person are connected through their relation to Jonas Doucet, who was last seen in Nikolski in the Aleutian Islands. Through most of the novel they all live in the same neighbourhood of Montreal, but they only know each other tangentially. Nikolski is all about connections and separations.

What I liked: Nikolski is very different from anything I've read before, although there was something in the writing style that reminded me of Douglas Coupland--and then I read in an interview that Dickner is a great admired of Coupland and was inspired by his novels. (one point for me!)

Dickner makes heavy use of some interesting and unusual motifs, including nomads, islands, Moby Dick, fish and floods, garbage and archaeology, indigenous people and pirates, to name just a few. I look forward to rereading the book at some point and spotting more of these.

What I didn't like: This book was a quick and easy read, but I found it too disjointed, which is not something I dislike in books very often. Also, the characters were too static and lacking in development; however, this book has been called a fairy tale, in which case lack of character depth would be expected.

Recommended for: the original French version of this book won slews of awards, and the English translation won Canada Reads. I really can't see everyone in Canada reading this book. If you like very jumbled quirky books though, give it a try.

Rating a marginal 4 out of 5 stars.

Why I Read This Now: not sure.

Completed my Books Other People Want Me to Read category with:

Little Bee, Chris Cleave, 2009


Although I like the idea of the silhouette cover, and I like the font of the title (though not that used for the author's name), I actually dislike this cover quite a bit. The whole silhouette thing has become a huge cliche (see post #99: http://www.librarything.com/topic/152640#4059082), I dislike the use of the second woman as the eye (Sarah, I suppose), and I hate the black and orange colour scheme. After my book club decided to Little Bee this year, we chose it for the October book because the of the Halloween colours (yes, this was a joke). Yuck. This is a much better cover:



or even better, this picture from my edition's inside cover:



Comments: When someone in my book club suggested this book, I had no idea about its hype and popularity--it had completely missed my radar. I'm glad about that, because I would have gone into it with an expectation to dislike it and expect it to be a typical book club book (which it sort of is, but one on the better-quality end of that typical book club spectrum).

Little Bee is a teenage Nigerian girl in a UK immigration detention centre. The only people she knows in England are a couple she met two years previously on a beach in Nigeria, and with whom she survived a terrifying event. The chapters alternate between Little Bee's story, and the English woman Sarah's. The story is an unusual one, and kept me interesting and turning the pages throughout. In many places I thought the writing was very good.

Rating: Still thinking about that. I found this very readable, and clipped through it in a day and a half, and there were some things I really liked about it, which means 4 stars. However, it also had some flaws that make me think that's too generous.

Recommended for: This book is indeed sort of a "book club book," but it's still a worthwhile read, and I learned a bit more about the refugee process in the UK. I think people who are drawn to stories about immigrants and refugees will find something new and interesting here.

Why I Read This Now: you guessed it: book club

Little Bee is waiting for me on Mt. TBR and I'll take an almost 4-rating and "better-quality end of that typical book club spectrum".

Enjoyed your review of Little Bee. It's been on my shelf, waiting to be read, and perhaps I'll move it up in the queue.

211 & 212 - Eva & Paulina - I think you should read it for sure. Even though I wasn't 100% positive about it, now I definitely want to read the author's other two books. I think he has some interesting things to say about our world.

Completed Books I've Been Wanting to Read

The Children's Book, AS Byatt, 2009


I LOVE this cover--the blue colour is scrumptious, and the art work is beautiful. The main figure is a Rene Lalique broach, and it plays a part in the story. The back cover is also lovely. Well done, Stephen Parker (book designer)

Comments: To summarize this huge book in one sentence, it is the story of the Wellwood family of Kent, and their friends, neighbours, and relatives, from the late Victorian period through to the end of WWI.

I've wanted to read this book every since it was published, but was daunted by its size and suspected density. I have to be in the right place to give these sorts of books justice. And now was the time. I loved the Edwardian setting, the millions of details, and the rich visuals of Byatt's writing. I loved the Bohemian and fairy tale world building. I loved its charm, and its worlds-within-worlds, and its secrets. I preferred this to the author's Booker winning Possession.

While reading, I often went off on research tangents with the author's intriguing details. I found The Children's Book to be such a yummy visual delight that I was compelled to create a Pinterest board to store the images that arose while reading it (note that because of the way Pinterest sorts pictures, the top of the board shows images from the end of the book and they roughly follow chronological order downwards): http://www.pinterest.com/nickelini/the-childrens-book-as-byatt/

In her reviews, a LT friend, Amaryann21, always includes a sentence or two where she compares the book to food. This novel lends itself nicely to a food comparison: If The Children's Book were food, it would be a sumptuous seven course meal, served in an elegant dining room with mahogany furniture, starched white linens, and the best china. There would be summer pea soup to start, and entrees would include roast beast, poached salmon, truffles, partridge, et cetera and so on. Dessert would be Belgian chocolates and layered cream cake. Each dish of course would be served with the appropriate accompanying wine.

Recommended for: Readers who like their historical fiction rich on details. People who didn't like this book complain of "too many": too many historical facts, too many characters, too many descriptions, too, too, too.

Rating: My first 5 star book this year.

Why I Read This Now: I was finally able to devote my time and concentration to it.

Good to hear it's a 5-star! It's been sitting on my Mt. TBR for a long time too, for the same reason - I "was daunted by its size and suspected density." :)

That is indeed a beautiful cover!

I do love the cover of Byatt's book but I keep being daunted but the story. Maybe I will take a leaf out of your book and hold off on reading it until I can give it my undivided attention.

215, 217 - Yes, I think it would be sad to have to try and read it in 15 minute bits when your kids are nattering in one ear and the TV is blasting in the other room. Focus and savor . . .

Children's and YA

After Hamelin, Bill Richardson, 2000


Cover comments: I've always liked this cover when I've shuffled this book through my TBR pile. I find the swirly colours to be inviting.

Comments:: This is a retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin story written for 10 - ?? year olds. Penelope becomes deaf around the same time that the Piper shows up in Hamelin to take revenge on the town, and so she doesn't dance away with the other children. It falls on her rescue them.

I'm a big fan of Bill Richardson, who I first got to know through his classical music shows on CBC Radio and then CBC Canada Reads. He is also the author of the charming and funny Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast.

There is some enchanting language and nice imagery in After Hamelin, but overall it just didn't work for me. But then I'm probably not the target audience. I do like that he tackled a fairy tale that isn't common, but is well known enough that most people know the basic premise. And I love the idea of fairy tales retold, but so far I'm not sure I've actually found any that I actually like on their own merit. I shall continue to search . . .

Why I Read This Now: Well, it's been in my TBR for years, and after reading The Children's Book and all the talk of adults reading children's books, I thought I'd read one too. (It's also one of my TBR Challenge goals).

Rating: 3 stars

Recommended for: readers in the target audience age range who like fairy tale retellings.

There seems to be few of us who are holding back on reading The Children's Book for the same reasons, your review has perked up my interest in this book again.

an extra for beautiful covers:

Fear and Trembling, Amelie Nothomb, 1999, translated from French by Adriana Hunter


I LOVE this cover--it's one of my favourite from my TBR pile. But I'm not sure what it is that speaks to me. I love the close up of the face, and the artifice of the makeup, but what does that mean? I'll think about this one. BTW--this is a dreaded "movie tie-in" cover that we all usually hate. Not this time.

Comments: It's 1990 and Japanese-born Belgian Amelie takes a job at a Tokyo corporation. Despite speaking Japanese and being aware of the customs, she earns herself continual demotions through her blunders and lapses of Japanese etiquette. This is a short, quick read and one that I found unique and entertaining. The novella is autobiographical, but I wondered how true to life the extreme bullying behaviour of some of her superiors was, and a Canadian friend who has lived in Japan for 20 years told me that it's fairly accurate, though certainly not the rule.

Recommended for: chances are, Fear and Trembling is extremely different from whatever else you're reading, so if you're looking for a quick change of pace, pick it up.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Why I Read This Now: looking for something short and different. It's also on the 1001 books list.

An extra for 1001 books:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892


Quite a delightful cover and a nice, non-cliche use of the silhouette.

Comments: I've managed to make it through my life paying no attention to Sherlock Holmes. So I didn't really know what to expect going in to this. Of course, a lot of Sherlock Holmes has permeated our culture, so I recognized many sayings and tropes. I guess I had more of an idea than I thought I did.

I was disappointed. I was expecting palpable atmosphere and, I hoped, a little creepiness. That was entirely missing. I thought I'd enjoy Holmes's use of observation and logic, but I have to admit that I found his mystery solving techniques to be almost silly. Overall, I found the stories sort of on the boring side. I frequently checked the page numbers to see how much more I had to endure--never a good sign.

Rating: a wildly generous 3 stars. I guess it wasn't that bad, and it certainly drips with cultural significance.

Recommended for: I seem to be the only one who isn't charmed by the whole Sherlock Holmes thing. I really don't get the love, but it could be a lot worse I guess. (This is my way of saying I don't recommend it but you'll probably love it).

Why I Read This Now: I was looking for something with good October atmosphere (cozy firesides, crisp air, and something vaguely menacing). I guess it sort of maybe did that a little.

Always disappointing when a book that's so much a part of general culture doesn't live up to the hype. I like Holmes a lot but wonder how much of that is due to the stories themselves and how much to the various adaptations, which I've always known about and must have some sort of impact on how I perceive the stories.
Perhaps The Hound of the Baskervilles would have provided more spooky October atmosphere?

I read A Long Way Down earlier this week and quite liked it, so thanks for bringing it to my attention! :)

I have The Hound of the Baskervilles in my TBR so maybe next October I'll try it. Thanks for the encouragement.

Glad you liked A Long Way Down!

There are a few of the stories that are still quite creepy, but most aren't, by 2013 standards. :)

We are rather jaded, are we not, by all of the modern TV and book detectives? I think it was rather brave of Doyle to make such a brilliant though flawed person. I wonder what people of the time thought about his drug use.

#226 - I think fashions change, although at the same time I have to recognize that the Sherlock Holmes character is still immensely popular. So I'm the outlier here. But if we all liked the same things, it would be boring. My husband had on a Sherlock Holmes movie the other day--one with Robert Downey Jr, and it was making me so crazy I had to go to another part of the house.

His drug use was only barely mentioned in the stories I read, and besides, it was legal. I'm not sure, but I can't see it being that much of an issue.

I really like the soundtrack for the RDJ Holmes movie, but the movie itself made me twitchy with all the CGI in the background. Irritating.

Another part of the Holmes canon that has somewhat lost its impact over the years: the story "The Final Problem". ;)

I actually didn't like the Robert Downey Jr. version at all, mainly because it felt like some steampunky thing where the characters just happened to be called Holmes and Watson. I would probably have liked it better if they had just made it an original story rather than a Sherlock story.

Lives of Girls and Women, Alice Munro, 1971


Love this classic cover. I know they're everywhere, but I don't think I've ever actually read one. And the binding was nice too, so the book felt really good to read.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Comments: Lives of Girls and Women is a bildungsroman of Del, growing up in a small town in Ontario in the 1940s. Her family lives on the outskirts of the town, so she is never really one of them, but not really a country person either. The book is made up of a series of linked stories, that I suppose could stand separately, although it really wouldn't make sense to read them out of order.

This the third Munro book I've read, and although I really like her as a person (she's very well known here in Canada), I haven't loved her books. I've appreciated them, I've seen their merit, but there was something that didn't quite click with me. One reason is that I've had trouble identifying with her characters, and the other is that at times she writes about some very uncomfortable material in a very stark manner. I've been heard to say that I feel like taking a shower after reading some of her stories.

I can confidently say that I've turned a corner her. On the surface I don't have much in common with her characters, but she writes about such very human experiences and emotions that I can't imagine anyone not identifying on some level if they're being honest. There were so many fabulous characters in Lives of Girls and Women--I especially had a soft spot for her odd, hopeful, encyclopedia-selling mother.

Alice Munro seems like such a nice old lady, but she writes some pretty raw stuff! I can also see why she is so admired by other writers--she's definitely a writer's writer.



Why I Read This Now: When she won the Nobel Prize earlier this month, I knew it was time to pull one of her books out of my TBR pile. I don't usually read back-to-back books from the same author, but I'm tempted to just start on the other book of hers that I own.

Recommended for: literature lovers. Not recommended for people who need a single plot line with a strong story arc. In reader reviews there are a lot of comments that Lives of Girls and Women is too much like short stories. However, if you've read a lot of literature, the structure won't make you blink.

I am a Canadian who hasn't ready any Alice Monroe yet. I need to add her into the mix.

#231 - The great thing about Alice Munro is that you can start with just a story here or there--you don't have to commit to a whole book.

Here are some suggestions with which stories to start with:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/10/alice_munro_best_stories_to_read_...

And here's a short article talking about why she's brilliant and referencing a story directly:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-genius-of-alice- munro/article13193415/

Thanks for the Monro info, I think I am leaning toward Lives of Girls and Women.

My final book to complete the challenge! It goes in the ChildLit category, although it would have been a great addition to Book Sale Discoveries too.

Breathe: a Ghost Story, by Cliff McNish, 2006


Love this cover

Comments: I'm always on the lookout for a good ghost story--one full of atmosphere and creepyness, and that isn't stupid. Because well-written ghost stories are hard to find, Breathe: a Ghost Story was a pleasant surprise, especially since it's a novel written for children.

Jack and his mother Sarah arrive at an old farmhouse they've leased in the English countryside where they have come to grieve and regroup after the sudden death of Jack's father (side note: I guess because it's a kid's book we don't see Sarah's pain over the loss of her husband? Odd.) In the beginning of the book, Jack reminds me of the little boy in the movie the Sixth Sense because he sees dead people--well, ghosts, actually. And this farmhouse has five--four children who died at different points over a forty year time span, plus a woman from the Victorian era whose daughter died from consumption in the garden. At first the Ghost Mother (as they call her) seems nice, but you soon learn that she is a little on the obsessive crazy side, and terrorizes the other ghosts as a result. She soon begins to terrorize Jack and Sarah too.

There are a lot of things I liked about Breathe: a Ghost Story. First, although it is written for children, it read like a book for any age reader (trust me, this is a rare and wonderful thing). The story was unique from start to finish--I soon got to know Jack and stopped imagining him as Haley Joel Osment. There were several twists that I didn't expect, and it was never predictable. The ghosts weren't the creepiest, but the whole logic and worldbuilding around them was both solid and inventive. Also, Jack has severe asthma, and McNish incorporates that effectively into the story. Finally, the chapter headings had cool illustrations. Overall, this is a terrific book.

Rating: 4 stars. A great Halloween read!

Recommended for: readers who love ghost stories.

Although I've now filled in all my spots, until December 31 I will continue to list books here that I've read that would qualify for one of the categories.

Congratulations on finishing!! Good to hear you're sticking around for the rest of the year!

Congratulations on completing your challenge and I am very happy you will continue to post your reads here. I know what you mean about good ghost stories being few and far between. I am adding Breathe to my wishlist.

Yay!!!

Congrats on finishing! :D

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Congratulations! Always great to finish a challenge with a good read!

Congratulations on finishing your challenge!

Thanks for all the congratulatory messages, everyone!

I'll keep adding books that I read as appropriate. This one would have gone under either non-fiction, beautiful covers, or CanLit.

Strange Things: the Malevolent North in Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood, 1995


I love this cover with it's vintage illustration and title font. I wonder though what this picture is about . . . why is this group of snowshoers wearing this odd uniform? Who are they? Curious indeed.

Comments: Strange Things is based on four lectures that Atwood gave at Oxford University in 1991. Here she looks at four different views of Canadian literature that incorporate themes of the "malevolent north" (that term tickles me): the Franklin Expedition, the 19th century Arctic disaster; Grey Owl Syndrome, where white men go native; the Wendigo, a ice-hearted monster of aboriginal legend (which I only knew from the Ogden Nash poem we used to recite on the playground in elementary school: "The Wendigo / the Wendigo! / Its eyes are ice and indigo! . . . "), and finally, women authors in Canada and their treatment of the north.

Rating: I don't know, I just didn't really click with this one. It's decent reference material I suppose, but I expected more. However, reader reviews are generally much more favourable, so if this sounds interesting don't let my so-so feelings dissuade you. It's short. 3 stars.

Recommended for: anyone studying CanLit or Canadian culture.

Why I Read This Now: was looking for some non-fiction.

This would have been Women Writers or 1001 Books:

Night and Day, Virginia Woolf, 1919


Cover comments: this Vintage Classics cover is nice. Not exciting, but nice.

Comments: Night and Day has been called Virginia Woolf's "most neglected novel," and I know why. It's too long, and too boring. This was a disappointment to me because Night and Day has also been called Woolf's novel that is most like Jane Austen (which just says that Woolf is not very much like Jane Austen. Neither is Stephen King, btw). My second disappointment is that the novel is about the Edwardian era--my favourite.

The novel covers the lives of a group of young adults living in London around 1908. They are each figuring out their place in the world, and each has his or her own ideas, but none of the six want to emulate their parent's Victorian world. There are two love triangles--the beautiful Katherine, her fiance William, and her cousin Cassandra; and, Katherine, a lawyer named Ralph, and a suffragette named Mary.

As boring as this book was, there were some truly lovely passages and a few interesting parts. I'd say if you edit this down from the 489 pages of my edition and make it an 80 page novella, it would be a strong book.

Woolf is recorded to have said that with this novel, her second, she aimed at "putting it all in," and that she did. Including two pages about a guy looking at his watch. Too, too much!

I started Night and Day on June 12, and have read 37 other books while chipping away at this one. It was taking me so long that I wrote a mini-review at the half-way point. This is what I said:

Katherine is the dutiful adult daughter who comes from a family of literary aristocracy. She is expected to make a good marriage, but what she really wants is to study mathematics. In the first chapter, she meets Ralph, a young lawyer from a lower class, and doesn’t like him. Hence we know that they will become love interests. Katherine soon gets engaged to William, a boring poet who reminds me of Cecil from A Room with a View. Obviously not the right love interest. And there is also Mary, who works in a suffragette office in Russell Square. Two-hundred-and-sixty-six pages in, that’s all that’s happened so far. Another two-hundred-and-twenty-three pages to go.

Recommended for: Readers who liked overstuffed Victorian-style novels and Virginia Woolf completists only.

Why I Read This Now: I'm a Virginia Woolf completist.

Rating 2.5 stars

I love that cover, and the time period, but I think I will pass on this one. Two pages about looking at a watch is really putting it "all in"!

I could have put this in historical fiction or women writers

What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale of Henry James & Jack the Ripper, Paula Marantz Cohen, 2010


Cover comments: yawn. A woman's back (a woman who is supposed to be bedridden, I think), and a shadowy figure disappearing into the distance. Not one but two cover cliches for your money.

Comments: The Alice of the title is Alice James, sister of novelist Henry James and William James (the later is one of the fathers of modern psychology). I guess her name is in the title as a play on the Henry James novel What Maisie Knew, because William is actually the main character in this book. Alice is confined to her bed, as she suffered from that Victorian female disease known as "hysteria."

In this alternate history, William James is invited to London by the police to help solve the Jack the Ripper murders in an early form of psychological profiling (a term the author does not use). While in London, William meets up with not only his famous brother, but also Oscar Wilde, and Mark Twain, and painters John Singer Sargent and James Whistler. I'm sure that the author had a ball writing this--she cleverly weaves in quotations and facts about all these people and invents a new story about the Ripper murders.

The story starts out very strongly with the line "Henry James was drunk," and a scene at a formal dinner party. By half way through though, I grew tired of the whole thing and didn't find it very satisfying. They do solve the murders, and the solution is logical, but by that point I didn't really care.

Rating 3 stars

Recommended for: I think it helps to know something about Alice, Henry, and William James in order to see what the author is doing, though I suppose someone who knows nothing about them might appreciate this just for the straight story. I don't really recommend this, but if you think it sounds interesting, give it a try.

Why I Read This Now it just shuffled itself out of my tbr pile into my hands.

Books Other People Want Me to Read

Ru, Kim Thuy, 2009, tranlated from French, Sheila Fischman, 2012


Cover comments: I think this cover is gorgeous on its own as a piece of art, but also because it captures that "Asian woman in Montreal" feeling. I love the Asian motif softly printed over the picture, like a snowflake on a Christmas card. Also, the paper is heavy and textured, almost like watercolour stock. When I flipped open the cover and saw that the book was designed by CS Richardson--the rock star of book design--I thought, "of course it was!".

Why I Read This Now: my bookclub selection for November

Rating: This is a 4 - 5 star book, which is reflected in its having won the Governor Generals award when it was published originally in French, and then later, nominated for the English language Giller Prize. However, my bookclub partner gave me the book 36 hours before our meeting, which technically is not a problem as it is only 141 pages long and has a lot of white space. The problem was that during those 36 hours I was deeply interested in a completely different book that I have going, and didn't want to break to read this. I was quite resentful actually, although I must say the inventiveness and good writing won me over. So for me it wasn't quite a 4 or 5, but that's what it deserves.

Comments: (when is she going to get to the comments, you say). Ru is a deep and complex novel about a growing up during the Vietnam War, becoming a boat person, and immigrating to Quebec. It had a intensely personal tone to it that makes me think it's more autobiographical than the author admits to (sort of like Michael Ondaatje's Cat's Table, my bookclub thought). The story is told in vignettes and jumps around in time. The writing is beautiful and evocative, but not so esoteric that the reader has to sweat over every sentence just to figure out what she's talking about. I have to admit that I just let the art wash over me at times, and I'd get more out of it on a second reading. Which, it being so short, would be an easy and pleasurable task (and note to all English uni profs out there--consider teaching this novel).

Everyone liked it, no one loved it. The main complaint was that the jumps in time combined with the vignettes made it too vague. Most people wanted more story with each piece. I agree, although because I was eager to return to my other novel, I didn't really care. Sorry, Kim Thuy.

We also had an interesting discussion on how subtly pro-Canadian this was (something I wouldn't have picked up on my own), and had the author written the same book after moving to the US instead, bookclubs down there would be saying "USA! USA!" That was a good laugh. We also compared it to our last book, Little Bee, which was about another young woman from a war torn country trying to immigrate to the UK, and how different their experiences were. But two completely different books, and two different stories. Both books are good reads, but it was interesting to see the links between two books that we read back-to-back at random.

Recommended for: Despite its accolades, I probably wouldn't have picked up this novel on my own, just because it doesn't fall within my areas of interest. However, it is a fine book, and if it sounds at all interesting to you, you should definitely track down a copy. After all, it's only 141 short pages.

@ 247 -- Haha, the "USA! USA!" remark made me laugh. As an American, I can attest that there's never a wrong time for the USA chant! :)

Sounds like Ru would make a great choice for the January GeoCat with it's focus on immigration to either Canada or the U.S.A. It's been on my wishlist for quite some time, so I will add it to my January reading list.

I can attest that there's never a wrong time for the USA chant! :)

Well, if you really think there is never a wrong time, do be aware that the rest of the world finds it highly obnoxious. But maybe it's my Canadian upbringing that tells me it is never okay to be obnoxious. Rob Ford missed that memo ;-).

It's been on my wishlist for quite some time, so I will add it to my January reading list.

Yes, it would be an excellent choice, especially if you prefer the more literary style immigrant story.

@ 250 -- Obviously there are SOME wrong times. Funerals, for instance. ;)

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813; annotated and edited by David M. Shapard, 2004


Cover comments: even the cover is annotated! This is a painting by Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, of their niece Fanny Austen Knight. Most fitting.

Comments on Pride and Prejudice in general: This is the second time I've read Pride and Prejudice. If it's not my favourite book, I don't know what is. There are two main reasons for this. The first is Austen's writing--her splendid use of language, her wit and biting social commentary, and the structure she gives the novel. I noticed on this reading (with the aid of the annotations) that there is not one sentence in the novel that doesn't contribute to either a character or to the development of the story as a whole. It is an amazing achievement and it is clear to me why Pride and Prejudice appears on pretty much every list of best novels.

In reading Jane Austen's novels, I saved her masterpiece for last, so when I finally got to it in 2010, I was well-versed in Austen's wit and social commentary. I had also seen numerous filmed versions of P&P, from the ultimately perfect 1995 BBC producition with Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle, to the embarrassing hot-mess that was the 2005 Kiera Knightly version, to the Bollywood Bride & Prejudice, and my much-loved Bridget Jones's Diary. This brings me to my second reason for adoring this book. I didn't think the book would hold any surprises, but silly me. I did not expect the love story to be so HOT. I still can't figure out how a story with not even a kiss and where half the characters are wearing those hideously unflattering regency dresses is probably the sexiest book I've ever read (and I spent my teens reading Harold Robbins and Jackie Collins). I'm not much on romance stories and usually roll my eyes when people talk about the romance in books like Jane Eyre or the Age of Innocence, but the love story in P&P has utterly grabbed me. I won't apologize.

But really, it's the writing and social commentary.


swoon

Comments on The Annotated Pride and Prejudice: This almost 800 page book includes not only the text and annotations, but also a chronology of the novel, useful maps, and an extensive bibliography of further reading. It is organized with the text of the novel on the left page and the annotations on the right. These annotations include some drawings, word definitions, plot points, and literary interpretations. The word definitons can get tedious--they are intended to point out where a word has changed since the novel was written, but I found many of them to be pretty obvious. Fortunately, I was able to gloss over these without too much interruption. I did enjoy the other annotations very much--it was like reading along with someone who had great insights. They also helped me to study Austen's unique style of writing, which is something that has fascinated me since I read Mansfield Park for university.

Recommened for: lovers of Jane Austen and this novel, students, writers studying technique. I do not recommend any novel this heavily annotated for a first time reader. It would be far too distracting and destroy the cadence of the book.

Rating: Like many readers before me, I liked Pride and Prejudice even better on my second reading. When I read it last I rated it A+++++++++++++++++. If it's even better this time, I guess I have to rate it 6 stars out of 5.

Why I Read This Now: I recently rewatched the 1995 BBC film, and just couldn't not read it. I have hundreds of books waiting in my TBR, but none of them look any good, and now I'm ruined for any other book. I'm closing my thread down now, as I'm only going to read P&P until further notice ;-)

@ 252 -- Haha, love this review! P&P is absolutely my favorite book, so I probably should get the annotated version, shouldn't I?

#253 - Yes, you need to order this one for sure. You may also want to consider Pride and Prejudice: An Annotated Edition, which I understand is oversized with colour illustrations. I will be breaking down and getting myself a copy any day now. The cover looks absolutely yummy: